Up to 15 million American workers face job displacement over the next decade due to artificial intelligence, even as a national survey reveals 69% of the public supports forcing AI firms to transfer half their stock to a public sovereign wealth fund. This stark economic forecast, from a Goldman Sachs report published last month, highlights the profound disruption facing the native working class. The Verasight survey, conducted in June this year, underscores a widespread public demand for national control over the burgeoning AI industry.
Senator Bernie Sanders proposed the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act in June this year. This legislation would grant the public a 50% stake in the largest U.S. AI companies. Sanders declared that "the future of AI and the fate of humanity must not be decided behind closed doors in Silicon Valley by billionaires seeking to maximize their power and profit." His statement directly challenges the elite capture of this transformative technology.
Tech layoffs are rising across the U.S., leaving many workers frustrated and worried about their job security. Despite this, corporations continue to ramp up capital expenditure for AI expansion. This creates a clear divergence between the interests of the working population and the priorities of corporate power.
Goldman Sachs Senior Global Economist Joseph Briggs estimates that more than 9% of the labor force could be affected. This figure represents approximately 15 million workers. Briggs described this as "the type of automation and reallocation shock that we saw in the late '90s and early 2000s." Such a shock promises to reshape the economic landscape for millions of families.
Elite Interests Drive Dispossession
AI company executives report no signs of overcapacity in the AI buildout. They insist demand remains extraordinary. Pat Gelsinger, general partner at Playground Global and former Intel CEO, stated, "I somewhat think of AI demand as almost unlimited." He added that energy availability is "the only real limiter," suggesting an insatiable drive for expansion.
Marc Boroditsky, chief revenue officer at Nebius, confirmed this trend. He said, "There's much more demand than we're able to fulfil." Nebius is actively building data centers using Nvidia's GPUs to meet this demand. Michael Hurlston, CEO of Lumentum, reported his company's products are sold out for the next five years. Lumentum's stock has surged around 600% over the last 12 months, as investors funnel capital into companies addressing key bottlenecks in AI data center construction.
Enterprises are shifting away from "tokenmaxxing," a period of indiscriminate AI use. Companies now focus more on the return on investment from AI. Boroditsky noted, "The CFO bringing the hammer down and slowing spend should actually be looking for value or valuemaxxing." This rationalization, he believes, will "definitely continue the demand," ensuring the relentless push for AI integration persists.
The People's Response
The Verasight survey, published earlier this month, found overwhelming public support for intervention. 69% of Americans back a public sovereign wealth fund. This fund would compel AI firms to transfer 50% of their stock to the public. Benjamin Leff, CEO of Verasight, explained that "AI Sovereign funds are seen as a tool to distribute the gains from the AI industry back to broader society." This reflects a deep-seated desire among the populace to reclaim economic sovereignty from transnational corporate interests. The people want a share in the future being built without their consent.