A new idea to share AI wealth with everyday Americans

Lawmakers are testing a bold plan: letting regular citizens get a piece of the fast-growing AI industry. Under this idea, big AI companies would hand over half their stock upfront to a giant government fund, which could eventually grow to seven trillion dollars. Each American would then get about a thousand dollars every year from the profits of that fund. The plan comes from worries that AI benefits only a small group of tech billionaires. But making this work isn’t simple. A special seven-person team would run the fund and even sit on the boards of the very companies they oversee. This team would be picked by the president and approved by the Senate, which makes the process slow and political. Some of the biggest names in tech—like Nvidia, Google, and Microsoft—could be included if their AI divisions hit a certain sales target.Not everyone is excited. Sam Altman, who leads one major AI company, met with supporters of the idea but called AI bosses “hard to talk to” because tech groups spend millions trying to sway elections. Meanwhile, companies like Microsoft have said they have no plans to hand over control to any government. Public opinion isn’t helping either. A recent poll found most Americans don’t trust Big Tech to handle AI safely, don’t believe the government can regulate it well, and think the whole industry is moving too fast. Even some former critics now admit the idea has merit—as long as it stays voluntary. Politics makes this even trickier. Republicans and Democrats rarely agree, yet both sides are starting to see eye to eye on the risks of unchecked AI. Still, passing such a sweeping change in a divided Congress would be an uphill battle. The question remains: Can distributing AI wealth really fix public distrust—or will it just create new problems?