Trump officials clash over giving government stakes in AI companies
The Trump administration is divided on whether the federal government should acquire equity in major AI firms, with the president's former AI czar warning against it while Trump himself explores the idea.
David Sacks, who served as Trump's AI policy advisor, said Friday he opposes Senator Bernie Sanders' proposal to give the government 50% ownership stakes in AI companies. Yet Sacks acknowledged the proposal appeals to voters across the political spectrum, blaming AI executives for overstating risks without explaining benefits.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have both walked back earlier predictions of massive job losses as they prepare for initial public offerings later this year. Sacks said this reversal damaged public trust and created political pressure for government intervention.
"Dario and Sam have begun to walk back their claims of massive job loss, but the damage to public trust is done," Sacks wrote on X. "I could almost support the Sanders proposal as a stupidity tax."
Sacks stopped short of endorsing Sanders' bill, instead warning that government ownership would accelerate what he called "corporate-government fusion" already underway. He raised a sharper concern: a government-controlled AI system could exert unprecedented control over information and behavior.
A government AI could "curate reality - with the ability to rewrite history, enforce ideological conformity, influence policy at scale, mass surveil Americans," Sacks said. He compared the risk to China's social credit system.
Trump took a different approach the same day. He said he expects to meet with AI company leaders this week to discuss a federal "partnership" that would benefit Americans.
One model Trump outlined would distribute company dividends to the public, similar to shareholder payouts. "There's so much money and it's so big that there are concepts where pieces could be given to the American public, where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies," Trump told reporters.
Senior U.S. officials have already held preliminary discussions with AI executives, including Altman, about the government acquiring shares, according to reporting from Thursday. Altman first pitched the idea to Trump in early 2025 and discussed it with administration officials in recent weeks.
The talks have centered on AI firms voluntarily transferring shares to the government, with returns directed to public purposes such as household dividends.
Sanders' bill would give the government more than financial returns. His proposal would allow federal officials to block decisions that harm Americans and push for policies that benefit them.
"If the big AI companies continue to grow as rapidly as many analysts expect, then the value of the sovereign wealth fund will grow as well - and the benefits to the American people will grow along with it," Sanders wrote in a New York Times op-ed Monday.
For government officials evaluating these proposals, understanding the policy implications is critical. Resources on AI for Government and the AI Learning Path for Policy Makers can help frame the governance and economic questions at stake.
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