When Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) teased his new AI bill in The New York Times, he undersold the socialist vision he had for the tech industry. Now that the bill text has been released, we know just how much government ownership of AI he wants.
On Thursday, Sanders unveiled the American A.I. Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which would impose a 50 percent tax, paid through stock, on any AI company with annual "gross receipts" of at least $200 million. Taxing gross receipts rather than revenue is a savvy move by Sanders, since most businesses traditionally considered AI companies aren't yet profitable, and gross receipts allow him to include total money earned from all sources, widening the pool of companies subject to the tax.
