Senator Bernie Sanders is proposing legislation that would hand the American public a direct stake in the artificial intelligence industry, according to an exclusive report from the Associated Press.
The plan, detailed by Joey Cappelletti of the Associated Press, would create a sovereign wealth fund — a government-owned investment pool — financed by a one-time tax on AI companies. Under the proposal, any AI company that reaches $200 million in annual AI sales would be subject to a 50% tax on its stock.
The AP frames the move as a way to give the public direct ownership of AI companies, rather than leaving the gains concentrated among private shareholders.
The timing reflects the industry's explosive growth. As the AI sector reshapes the economy and its biggest players race toward trillion-dollar valuations, Sanders is arguing that ordinary people should share in that windfall.
A sovereign wealth fund is a familiar tool in other countries — Norway, for instance, runs one of the world's largest, built on oil revenue, that invests on behalf of its citizens. Sanders' version would instead be seeded by equity from the companies driving the AI boom.
The proposal is so far just that: legislation being unveiled, not law. It would need to pass Congress, where a 50% stock tax on a fast-growing industry would almost certainly face fierce opposition.
Why it matters: the idea reframes a central debate of the AI era — who captures the enormous wealth these companies are generating — by proposing that the public, not just investors, get a direct cut.