- Sen. Bernie Sanders is proposing a new bill the American A.I. Sovereign Wealth Fund AI Act
- The Sovereign Wealth Fund, overseen by the U.S. government, would be funded by 50% tax on US AI companies paid in their shares of stock.
- Americans would be paid dividends from money accrued from the stocks in the wealth fund.
- The U.S. government would have a Board seat at U.S. AI companies, with voting power.
Last week it was Pope Leo XIV to issue a bold AI-related encyclical. Well, this week, it’s Senator Bernie Sanders’ turn.
In the New York Times, Senator Sanders has proposed a bold new idea: the American A.I. Sovereign Wealth Fund Act proposes to impose a 50% tax on AI companies in the United States to be paid in their stock to the federal government.
The federal government would get a Board seat at each of the AI companies, with voting power.
The AI companies’ stock would go into the American A.I. Sovereign Wealth Fund, apparently with dividend payments to all Americans.
“To start, the billions, if not trillions, of dollars generated by this fund would provide direct payments to the American people. And as the fund generates more and more wealth, the proceeds would be used to ensure that every man, woman and child in our country has a decent and dignified standard of living, including health care, education and housing.” – Sen. Bernie Sanders
The idea does sound radical at first. But Senator Sanders offers various examples, including:
- “Fifty years ago, Alaska created a sovereign wealth fund from the state’s oil revenues. For decades, it has paid annual dividends directly to Alaskans.”
- “Moreover, public pension funds in states across the country already hold hundreds of billions of dollars in the stock of companies throughout America.”
- “Even President Trump, in an executive order, has proposed establishing an American sovereign wealth fund.“
- “Dozens of sovereign wealth funds exist all over the world to ensure that ordinary people benefit from national wealth. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, one of the largest in the world, was funded from the country’s oil wealth and is now worth more than $2 trillion. Instead of a few oil executives pocketing all the benefits of this national resource, Norway made the decision that this wealth should be used to improve life for all of its people.
Plus, Senator Sanders says scholars have proposed wealth funds, and even AI leaders, including Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Elon Musk have supported a national wealth fund or, in Musk’s case, universal basic income.
Given the current anxiety and concern over AI, this idea could gain some real traction in the United States.
