Bernie Sanders says US public should take 50% stake in OpenAI and Anthropic

US senator Bernie Sanders wants the American people to take 50 percent stake in AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

Sanders, the independent senator for Vermont, has announced he will introduce the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which he says is a bid to ensure that the large profits reaped by US AI companies benefit the wider population.

Bernie Sanders wants a bit of OpenAI – Caassemblyedits/Wikimedia Commons

Under the proposal, outlined by Sanders in a video posted on social media, the bill would take the form of a one-time tax, paid not in cash but in shares. A 50 percent stake in the biggest AI companies would be deposited in a publicly owned account, giving the US government voting powers and the right to block decisions it considers harmful to citizens.

Any proceeds accrued as the publicly-owned shares grow in value would be transferred back to the American people in the form of one-off payments.