Some progressives are floating various plans to spread the wealth of the AI boom in the run-up to the midterm elections this fall, with proposals ranging from taxes on AI tokens to an excise tax on the energy used by data centers. But other stakeholders are urging a more cautious approach, and artificial intelligence companies themselves are seeking to weigh in.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., proposed an excise tax on data center energy usage in a Time op-ed column last month, where she also pitched wealth tax and corporate minimum tax proposals as ways to address the economic disparities caused by AI.
“Here’s what I see clearly: if we overhaul our tax code and tax AI, we can use that money to build a country that works for everyone,” Warren wrote. “A country where health care is treated as a human right, where every American is guaranteed a good job, and where education isn’t a privilege reserved for the wealthy. That’s what I believe taxing AI promises.”
Democratic Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is calling for a tax levied against tokens, which are the units of data processed by an AI model. Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Michigan has also called for such a tax on commercial uses of AI to fund apprenticeship programs.
