The debate over how to distribute the economic benefits of artificial intelligence is intensifying, with new proposals and research highlighting the risk that gains will remain concentrated among a handful of powerful companies.
Senator Bernie Sanders recently proposed that the public should own half of AI, a radical idea that reflects a broader conversation among economists and technology leaders about ensuring wider access to AI wealth.
While such proposals are unlikely to become policy in the near term, they underscore growing concerns about inequality in the AI era.
This discussion comes as a new report from the World Bank Group argues that the economic benefits of AI will disproportionately favor capital owners rather than the broader workforce.
The findings challenge the prevailing optimism that AI will automatically lift all boats, suggesting instead that without deliberate policy interventions, the technology could exacerbate existing wealth disparities.
The report highlights the need for governments to consider mechanisms such as taxation, public ownership stakes, or direct transfers to ensure that AI's productivity gains are shared more broadly.