AI Is a Product of Humanity. Humanity Should Own AI. - Jacobin

Bernie Sanders wants AI companies to pay a 50% tax in stock, because apparently the solution to corporate power is to demand they write a cheque drawn on their own future appreciation. The Jacobin article endorsing this grand plan argues that AI is 'a product of human collective effort'—which, in the language of the boardroom, translates to 'someone else's problem to fund.' One can almost hear the venture capitalists laughing all the way to their offshore accounts.

The proposal is elegantly simple: force the shareholders of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind to literally hand over half their equity to the public. But the mechanism is a bit like asking a vampire to donate blood—technically possible, but don't hold your breath. The article frames this as a moral imperative, but the only thing that seems to have a firm grip on reality is the stock buyback programs that have already been scheduled for next quarter.

And so we circle back to the fundamental comedy of the situation: the very companies that are racing to build god-like intelligence are being asked to share their toys with the plebs. It's a beautiful thought, a lovely piece of left-wing wish-fulfillment, and about as likely to happen as a five-year moratorium on AGI development. But at least it gives us something to laugh about while the models get smarter and the ownership gets more concentrated.