Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has rebuked leading AI companies for adopting nationalist rhetoric, warning that firms are trading humanity’s interests for a simplistic “us-versus-China” framing. Buterin’s comments arrive as U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders unveiled plans for the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, a legislative proposal that would place 50% of the equity of top AI firms under public ownership.
According to BeInCrypto, the proposed legislation targets prominent frontier AI labs, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI. The bill would mandate a one-time tax on these companies, payable in equity, which would then be transferred to a federal sovereign wealth fund. Under this structure, the government would hold voting shares and appoint representatives to the boards of these private corporations.
Senator Sanders detailed his strategy in an op-ed for the New York Times, arguing that the concentration of AI wealth in the hands of a few executives is fundamentally unjust. He noted that AI models are trained on the collective knowledge, art, and code of the global population, rather than being the sole product of individual imagination.
“Let us be clear. Artificial intelligence was not created out of thin air. The data and language used by generative A.I. tools didn’t just pop into Sam Altman’s head or Elon Musk’s imagination,” Sanders wrote. "Since A.I. is built on the collective knowledge of humanity, the wealth it generates must benefit humanity. Not just Mr. Musk, Mr. Altman, Dario Amodei and other moguls whose companies are positioned to dominate the industry.”
The Clash Between Public Ownership and Corporate Strategy
Buterin’s criticism serves as a direct response to the industry's pivot toward national security arguments. By framing their development as a strategic necessity for the United States, AI companies have often attempted to insulate themselves from regulation and public oversight. Buterin argues that this nationalist framing is a calculated trade-off that abandons the collaborative, global nature of technological progress.
The Sanders proposal represents a significant escalation in the ongoing debate over how to govern the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence. By attempting to convert private equity into public assets, the bill aims to prevent the monopolization of AI-derived wealth. If passed, the legislation would fundamentally alter the ownership structures of the industry’s most powerful entities, shifting control from venture-backed boards to a public trust.
