Ownership and Control of Artificial Intelligence: A Critical Reflection

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to be one of the most impactful technologies in history. It will deeply influence the lives of every person in the country. AI is already bringing significant changes to our economy, democracy, emotional well-being, environment, and educational systems. However, there is an underlying concern that as AI becomes more advanced than humans, it might operate independently, leading to possible disastrous outcomes.

The question confronting us is not whether AI will transform the world. It will. The key consideration is who will oversee and benefit from this transformation. Will AI enhance life for working families? Will it enrich the quality of life, help eradicate poverty, increase life expectancies, and address climate change challenges? Or will a select few billionaires, responsible for promoting and developing AI with little democratic engagement, shape the future to become wealthier and more influential?

This is the choice at hand.

It’s important to acknowledge that AI didn’t materialize from nowhere. The data and language utilized by generative AI tools are not mere spontaneous creations. AI is constructed on our shared knowledge: our literature, music, art, journalism, computer code, scientific research, videos, discussions, images, and ideas accumulated over generations. Sam Altman, head of OpenAI, recognizes that AI models are trained on our “collective experience, knowledge” and “learnings of humanity.”

Typically, technology magnates have used this knowledge to develop AI models without permission, acknowledgment, or compensation. The creative contributions of many individuals—writers, artists, musicians, journalists, educators, scientists, and regular citizens—have essentially been appropriated by some of the world’s wealthiest individuals. It is time for us to take action to reclaim it.

Since AI is founded on humanity’s collective knowledge, it is essential that the wealth generated from it benefits everyone. This should not solely profit people like Musk, Altman, Dario Amodei, and other industry leaders positioned to dominate AI, nor just the venture capitalists of Silicon Valley or the investors on Wall Street who view AI as a lucrative opportunity.

In response, the upcoming American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act will be introduced. This legislation aims to grant the public a direct ownership interest in the largest AI companies in the United States. This would be achieved through a one-time 50 percent tax. This tax would not be on the profits of entities like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, but rather something more valuable—stock.