{
  "id": 16374096,
  "title": "How to share AI wealth? Neither the US nor Asia has the answer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/how-to-share-ai-wealth-neither-the-us-nor-asia-has-the-answer",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-24T21:30:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3371822/how-share-ai-wealth-neither-us-nor-asia-has-answer"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On October 18, Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory, committed 5 per cent of its shares to a public benefit fund. Meanwhile, Elon Musk pledged one SpaceX share for \"every kid in America,\" valued at roughly US$10.6 billion. The primary difference between the two offers lies in who owns the shares – Anthropic's are held in an entity the company owns for the public good, while Musk's would be given to a child by a means not yet disclosed. The question arises: should the public own the companies that become wealthy through AI?\n\nRecent warnings from the International Monetary Fund managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, suggest that AI could alter income distribution, potentially augmenting, downgrading, or eliminating 40 per cent of global jobs. Asia, historically dependent on job creation for economic growth, now faces a unique challenge as AI alters the landscape.\n\nIn contrast to America, where 62 per cent of adults own shares, Asian economic growth has traditionally been driven by wages. Countries like Japan and South Korea have made significant strides in providing workers with a larger share of income. Japan's shunto, or annual wage negotiations, led to Hayato Ikeda's promise of doubling national income in just seven years, while South Korea's 1987 strikes resulted in workers receiving a more significant portion of pay.\n\nHowever, the relationship between productivity and wages has changed. Since the mid-1990s, a 1 per cent rise in productivity has only lifted wages by about 0.4 per cent in Japan, compared to roughly 1 per cent in America. As AI becomes increasingly prevalent, this trend could intensify, leaving workers with stagnant wages despite increased productivity.\n\nThis shift in the economy's growth model has not gone unnoticed by workers. In South Korea's Icheon, last year, SK Hynix, which specializes in AI chips, agreed to give its employees 10 per cent of its operating profit. Workers recently voted down a proposal to take 60 per cent in shares, preferring a mix of cash and shares due to concerns over stock volatility and taxation. Ultimately, they reached a compromise of half cash, half shares, with the option to increase the stock component.\n\nDespite the workers' efforts to negotiate a fair share of the company's profits, the system's blind spot remains – it assumes that workers have a job. With 450,000 young Koreans expressing a desire for no employment, according to the Bank of Korea, the AI revolution may disproportionately impact the jobless, leaving them with no avenue to benefit from AI's wealth. The solution lies in a system that allocates a portion of the AI-generated revenue to all citizens, regardless of employment status, ensuring that the benefits of AI are distributed more equitably.",
  "summary": "On October 18, Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory preparing one of the largest listings in history, committed 5 per cent of its shares to a public benefit fund. The next day, Elon Musk promised one SpaceX share, next year, for “every kid in America” – about US$10.6 billion for some 73 million children. The offers differ in who holds the shares. Anthropic’s will sit in an…",
  "key_points": [
    "Anthropic commits 5% of shares to public benefit fund",
    "Elon Musk pledges one SpaceX share per American child",
    "Asia faces AI-driven job displacement challenge"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}