The political horseshoe is bending around businesses benefitting from the AI boom.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is proposing a bill that would give the federal government a stake in leading AI companies, a bid to help the American public benefit from the technology while carving an avenue for the government to influence its development.
The idea is a close cousin of President Donald Trump’s move to take government stakes in several companies sitting in strategic sectors, like Intel and MP Materials.
But in a sign that Trump’s muscular federal role may not survive his presidency, Sanders’ idea is landing poorly with lawmakers in both parties wary of extreme government intervention.
“I don’t want the government involved in the private sector,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said the proposal sounded “communist.”
The White House didn’t return a request for comment.