Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to give Americans more control over AI. But how?
6/18/202610 min
A small number of people have made billions from AI and control the future of this groundbreaking technology.
Independent US Senator Bernie Sanders wants to spread that wealth and power among the American public.
His idea idea? Create a sovereign wealth fund that can also regulate AI.
But how will it work -- and is there political will to make it happen?
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This episode was produced by Christopher Harland-Dunaway and Tyler Bartlam.
It was edited by Sarah Handel and Tinbete Ermyas.
Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJuana Summers· Host0:00
It's Consider This, where every day we go deep on one big news story. Today, a public stake in the country's largest AI companies. The US economy's future is being shaped right now by AI, and a handful of people are reaping the benefits with little oversight.
Bernie Sanders· Guest0:16
The average American understands that AI is gonna have a profound impact on his or her life, and yet as of today, there has not been one significant piece of legislation passed to regulate AI.
Juana Summers· Host0:32
That is independent US Senator Bernie Sanders, and he wants to change that. His solution? A sovereign wealth fund financed by the AI industry. The top AI companies would be subject to a one-time fifty percent tax on their stocks, and that could send every American a one thousand dollar check, and- The public would have fifty percent representation on every major AI company, and that means that these billionaires who now control the industry wanna do something that will be harmful to the American people, the people representing the public will say, "Sorry, you can't do that." Consider this: Only a handful of people are benefiting from the AI boom. Could a sovereign wealth fund level the playing field? From NPR, I'm Juana Summers.
Speaker 31:25
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