Bernie Sanders

To the Editor:

Re “A.I. Belongs to the People, Not to Billionaires,” by Bernie Sanders (Opinion guest essay, June 3):

Senator Sanders argues that “the people” should be compensated for their contributions in training artificial intelligence and have “a direct role in determining the future of this technology.” But a federal sovereign wealth fund, which he proposes, is a disguise for more government control and can be supported only by those who think the government knows best.

He points to sovereign wealth funds built on oil revenues as a model. But oil and A.I. are fundamentally different. While oil is a finite natural resource, A.I. is an evolving technology whose value depends on continued innovation and investment. You cannot regulate a breakthrough the way you regulate a barrel of crude.

Mr. Sanders says his proposal will give Americans a stake in the future of A.I. In practice, it would give that stake to the government. Ownership and decision-making rights would revert to public officials. The answer for a prosperous future is not concentrated government power.

Mario Ottero

Washington

The writer is the emergent technology policy analyst at Americans for Prosperity.

To the Editor:

Senator Bernie Sanders’s proposal to give the public an ownership stake in America’s top A.I. companies is quite alarming. He is not simply advocating a sovereign wealth fund that would help the public capture the benefits of A.I.-generated growth. Those funds normally take small stakes in many companies; Mr. Sanders wants the government to take a major stake in industry leaders, giving it both a share of profits and the power to dictate the company’s behavior.

Unlike the normal left-of-center policies Republicans misconstrue as socialism, government ownership of private enterprise is the textbook definition of it. And how do we know it will stop with A.I.? Mr. Sanders’s claim that the government deserves a stake in companies “built on the collective knowledge” could apply to any business that iterates on government-funded research or uses public infrastructure — which is ultimately almost all of them.

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