Bernie Sanders pitches $1,000 payments to public from 50% stake in AI
by Joe Fisher · UPIJune 18 (UPI) -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced legislation Thursday that would give the public $1,000 annually for a 50% stake in the largest AI firms in the country.
Sanders' bill calls for the creation of an AI wealth fund that would give the public a stake in AI to offset the disruption the technology has caused to the job market. It is an idea that President Donald Trump has also discussed.
The fund would be worth about $7 trillion, Sanders' office said.
"AI was not created out of thin air," Sanders said. "It was not a brilliant idea that just popped into Mark Zuckerberg's head or Elon Musk's imagination. The foundation of AI is based on the collective knowledge of humanity and the creative work of tens of millions of people. The principle is simple: When a public resource generates wealth, the public should share in that wealth."
The Independent Commission for Democratic AI, a bipartisan panel that is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, would manage the wealth fund. It would draw a 5% annual dividend to pay more than $1,000 to Americans, Sanders estimates.
AI companies that make $200 million or more in annual revenue would be subject to paying out to Americans. New companies could also be subject to this depending on their size and valuation.
"Left unchecked, Artificial Intelligence and robotics threatens the jobs, privacy rights and mental health of every man, woman and child in America," Sanders said. "As a society, we can no longer sit back and allow a handful of Big Tech oligarchs to determine the future of this revolutionary technology with no democratic input."
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