Alex Bores proposes an AI Dividend to share AI profits with the public

In short: New York candidate Alex Bores is calling for an “A.I. Dividend” that would require A.I. companies to share some profits with the public.

What happened

Alex Bores, a New York state assemblyman running for Congress in New York’s 12th District, has proposed a policy he calls an “A.I. Dividend.” He discussed the idea on The Ezra Klein Show in a New York Times Opinion video.

Bores says the goal is to prepare for a future where A.I. systems can do much of the work people do today. A.I. here means software that can write, analyze, and make decisions in ways that can replace some office and creative tasks (like a very fast assistant that keeps getting better).

Under his proposal, companies that make large profits from A.I. would be required to share part of those profits with the public. Bores argues this could help pay for a universal basic income, which is a policy where everyone gets a regular cash payment, no matter what job they have.

The proposal comes amid a heated political fight around his campaign. A super PAC called Leading the Future, backed by tech leaders connected to Palantir and OpenAI, has spent millions opposing him. The race has become a proxy fight over who should benefit financially from A.I. and how strictly A.I. companies should be regulated, including calls for more transparency about safety.

Why it matters

If A.I. reduces the number of available jobs, the biggest question for most people is how they will pay rent, buy groceries, and support their families. An “A.I. Dividend” is one attempt to treat A.I. profits like a shared resource (like collecting a fee when a private company uses a public road) so the gains do not flow only to investors.

Source: NYTimes