Key Takeaways
- • A June 2026 survey found about seven in 10 Americans supported requiring AI companies to transfer half of their stock to a government-run sovereign wealth fund, a proposal tied to legislation introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
- • On July 13, roughly 200 economists and computer scientists, including 16 Nobel Prize winners, warned that AI could bring large-scale job displacement alongside gains in living standards.
- • The Trump administration has struck 30 strategic investment deals totaling $27 billion since January 2025, including stakes in U.S. Steel and Intel, and Vice President JD Vance indicated in June the White House would support extending this approach to AI companies.
- • Canada, the U.K., South Korea and Saudi Arabia have already introduced AI-focused sovereign wealth funds into long-term planning, according to the author.
- • Tufts professor Patrick J. Schena argues that a U.S. AI fund would require unresolved decisions on investment selection, financing, return generation and how proceeds would be used, and that current Washington lacks the governance needed.
Summary
About seven in 10 Americans surveyed in June 2026 said the U.S. government should require artificial intelligence companies to transfer half of their stock to a sovereign wealth fund, according to a Fortune article republished from The Conversation. The survey was conducted around the time Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced related legislation intended to create government oversight of disruptive AI threats while allowing all Americans to share in the value the technology creates.
The proposal arrives as concern over AI is growing. On July 13, about 200 economists and computer scientists, including 16 Nobel Prize winners, warned that AI "may become radically more powerful over the next 10 years" and could bring risks including large-scale job displacement as well as opportunities such as major gains in living standards. The signatories called for AI use that "complements humans and benefits society."
The article, written by Tufts University Professor of Practice Patrick J. Schena, notes that Canada, the U.K., South Korea, Saudi Arabia and several other countries have already begun introducing AI-focused sovereign wealth funds. Within the U.S., Alaska's Permanent Fund, valued at US$91 billion, offers a domestic precedent: it has accumulated the state's oil revenue surpluses since 1976, is integrated into the state budget, and has paid dividends to residents since 1982, set at $1,200 for 2026.
President Donald Trump first floated a U.S. sovereign wealth fund in February 2025, but progress has been limited. Instead, the administration has been an active investor in defense, energy, semiconductors and critical minerals, with 30 deals since January 2025 totaling $27 billion, including federal investments in U.S. Steel and Intel. In June, Vice President JD Vance indicated the White House would support extending this approach to stakes in AI companies. Today, income from U.S. government stock holdings flows to the general government without a defined use, and Schena writes that no current rules would direct AI-related gains toward offsetting employment or income effects.
Schena identifies several unresolved questions: whether the government would invest or receive shares through taxes, who selects companies, where financing would come from, how income would be earned, and what happens if high-growth, cash-hungry AI firms underperform. He concludes that even with government ownership, policymakers would need to agree on investment selection, risk management and the use of returns. Establishing such a fund could be a start, he writes, but delivering on its purpose would require consensus, discipline and strong governance, which he says are in short supply in Washington.
The proposal arrives as concern over AI is growing. On July 13, about 200 economists and computer scientists, including 16 Nobel Prize winners, warned that AI "may become radically more powerful over the next 10 years" and could bring risks including large-scale job displacement as well as opportunities such as major gains in living standards. The signatories called for AI use that "complements humans and benefits society."
The article, written by Tufts University Professor of Practice Patrick J. Schena, notes that Canada, the U.K., South Korea, Saudi Arabia and several other countries have already begun introducing AI-focused sovereign wealth funds. Within the U.S., Alaska's Permanent Fund, valued at US$91 billion, offers a domestic precedent: it has accumulated the state's oil revenue surpluses since 1976, is integrated into the state budget, and has paid dividends to residents since 1982, set at $1,200 for 2026.
President Donald Trump first floated a U.S. sovereign wealth fund in February 2025, but progress has been limited. Instead, the administration has been an active investor in defense, energy, semiconductors and critical minerals, with 30 deals since January 2025 totaling $27 billion, including federal investments in U.S. Steel and Intel. In June, Vice President JD Vance indicated the White House would support extending this approach to stakes in AI companies. Today, income from U.S. government stock holdings flows to the general government without a defined use, and Schena writes that no current rules would direct AI-related gains toward offsetting employment or income effects.
Schena identifies several unresolved questions: whether the government would invest or receive shares through taxes, who selects companies, where financing would come from, how income would be earned, and what happens if high-growth, cash-hungry AI firms underperform. He concludes that even with government ownership, policymakers would need to agree on investment selection, risk management and the use of returns. Establishing such a fund could be a start, he writes, but delivering on its purpose would require consensus, discipline and strong governance, which he says are in short supply in Washington.
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