Senator Bernie Sanders has announced a new legislative initiative aimed at transferring half the control of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom from Silicon Valley billionaires to the American public. Arguing that AI companies built their empires on 'stolen' data, Sanders plans to introduce the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, a bill that would levy a one-time 50% tax on the stock of the nation's largest AI firms to establish a public fund.
Bernie Sanders: AI Built on Humanity's Collective Wisdom
In an opinion piece for The New York Times, Sanders emphasized that generative AI tools from companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI did not emerge spontaneously or solely from the imaginations of tech leaders like Sam Altman or Elon Musk. Instead, these models have been trained on generations of books, artwork, journalism, computer code, and conversations. Sanders pointed out that OpenAI's Sam Altman has acknowledged that AI models are trained on the 'collective experience' and 'learnings of humanity.'
Sanders argued that 'tech oligarchs' took this public resource without permission, acknowledgment, or financial compensation. He maintains that the staggering wealth generated by AI must benefit everyone, not just venture capitalists and a handful of billionaires. 'The creative work of millions of people—writers, artists, musicians, journalists, teachers, scientists and ordinary citizens—has essentially been stolen by some of the wealthiest people in the world,' Sanders stated, declaring that it is time for humanity to reclaim its collective knowledge.
How the 50% Corporate Stock Tax Will Work
The centerpiece of the proposed legislation is a unique tax structure designed to give Americans a direct ownership stake in the AI future. The bill proposes a one-time 50% tax paid entirely in company stock, targeting dominant private and public entities like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI. Rather than taxing corporate profits, this approach would grant the federal government voting shares and equal representation on the boards of these massive AI companies. This would give the public the power to block harmful corporate decisions and push for ethical policies.
Additionally, as these AI companies grow, the fund's value would expand, and the dollars potentially generated would initially fund direct dividend payments to the American people. The resulting sovereign wealth fund would ensure that the benefits of AI are shared broadly, not concentrated among a few wealthy individuals.
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