TL;DR

• Senator Bernie Sanders is introducing legislation that would give the public a direct 50% stake in the largest American AI companies.
• The bill would create an independent commission that would manage the sovereign wealth fund, block decisions that hurt the American people, and push for policies that would help them.
• If passed, it’s estimated that the wealth fund would be worth around $7 trillion, netting everyone in the US $1,000 from an initial 5% annual dividend.

In a statement, Sanders explains:

Left unchecked, Artificial Intelligence and robotics threatens the jobs, privacy rights and mental health of every man, woman and child in America. 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. AI was not created out of thin air. 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 American people must have the ability to slow it down and make sure that AI benefits humanity, not just the richest people on the planet. That’s precisely what this legislation does.

If the bill passes, it would do three key things:

• Create an independent commission: This commission would consist of seven members picked by the President and confirmed by the Senate, with nominees selected from a list of bipartisan names provided by Congress. This commission would manage the sovereign wealth fund, block decisions that would hurt the US public, and push for policies that would help them.
• Break off the AI arm: Companies that run both AI and non-AI businesses would be required to break those businesses up so the public can have an ownership stake in the AI business.
• Give money to Americans: Profits generated by AI would be used to benefit US citizens.

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