If the markets reject OpenAI and Anthropic, the US should nationalize them | Bruce Schneier and Nathan E Sanders
From space to telecommunications, the US has a long history of fostering technology for the public good. These AI models could be aligned to democratic values, not corporate profits OpenAI, and then Anthropic, were each formed by AI developers who feared unrestrained corporate AI development – specifically, that companies like Google and Meta would steer the technology towards deleterious, maybe…
The United States has a history of promoting technology for the public good, from space exploration to telecommunications (1). Two AI companies, OpenAI and Anthropic, were founded by developers concerned that unrestricted corporate development by tech giants like Google and Meta could lead to unsafe outcomes for society (2). The founders of these labs claimed their organizations would prioritize humanity's best interests in their work (3).
However, both companies were eventually influenced by market incentives and transformed into corporate giants focused on preserving investor value rather than societal welfare (4). OpenAI and Anthropic recently filed for IPOs, attracting significant attention due to their projected trillion-dollar valuations (5). This surge in valuations has sparked worries about the potential for these companies to concentrate wealth on a global scale (6).
Proposals have emerged for the federal government to acquire a stake in these companies to establish a US sovereign wealth fund, or to distribute their revenues as dividends for taxpayers, ensuring some benefit is returned to the public (7).
Written by urgent.news from The Guardian US's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
