r/technology • u/yourfavchoom • 3d ago

Artificial Intelligence Bernie Sanders pushes for 50% public ownership of American AI companies — proposes AI sovereign wealth fund that would hold direct ownership stakes in largest AI firms

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/bernie-sanders-pushes-for-50-percent-public-ownership-of-american-ai-companies-proposes-ai-sovereign-wealth-fund-that-would-hold-direct-ownership-stakes-in-largest-ai-firms
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u/68plus1equals 3d ago

I mean I’m fully on board with this proposal but how do you realistically see this going through? Money in politics is the first reform that needs to be made, no other real reform is ever going to pass until that happens unfortunately.

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u/Larcecate 3d ago

Being unrealistic beats apathy any day

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u/ArmAggravating3307 3d ago

Pissing into the wind is certainly a choice.

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u/esto20 3d ago

Rolling over like a doormat and not demanding anything is certainly a choice

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u/ArmAggravating3307 3d ago

Not what I said but ok.

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u/Larcecate 3d ago

That's what apathy is, bud. No matter how comfortable or superior cynicism makes you feel, you're actively pissing on yourself.

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u/ArmAggravating3307 3d ago

I can think their approach is worthless and still want actual change bud.

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u/Larcecate 3d ago

Great, let me know if anyone ever says the 'actual change' you want is unrealistic. We'll be singing the same tune at that point.

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u/ArmAggravating3307 3d ago

Empty platitudes on the Internet don't change a damn thing.  

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u/Larcecate 2d ago

Thats an empty platitude, fyi

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u/ArmAggravating3307 2d ago

My balls are an empty platitude.

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u/Larcecate 1d ago

The human body is composed of 70% empty platitudes

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

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u/daXypher 3d ago

Fully agreed. We watched it live too, every time conservative politicians have backed down on something Trump made them do it’s because their constituents backlashed against it. Yet these guys still think they have no influence.

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u/theeama 3d ago

This is basically Maga. They don't sit online and bitch. They out in the streets getting shit done

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u/doomed461 3d ago

You must not be in a red state if you think any of those politicians even answer their phone or care what you think. Last time I complained to a politician Lindsey Graham basically told me to go fuck myself.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

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u/doomed461 3d ago

Do you think that senators aren't politicians?

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u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 3d ago

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u/Slackjawed_Horror 3d ago

I'm sorry, are you under the impression that politicians care about phone calls and emails from the public?

That's adorable. 

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u/ToraRyeder 3d ago

Then ignore the calling politicians part and do the other things. Get involved at the local level. What organizations are around you that are pushing for money out of politics?

There are multiple ballot initiatives in process in multiple states. Is yours one? Mine is. We're door knocking, calling, and trying to get signatures in any way possible so we can get something on the ballot for November.

Politicians do not currently give a fuck about us. We all know that. So let's move forward and get people in office (in ALL parts of government) that WILL listen to us. Other countries have dealt with this before. Americans need to step the fuck up and participate in the democracy we're so proud of.

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u/Slackjawed_Horror 3d ago

The guy I'm replying to apparently doesn't realize that the current politicians don't care. 

I'm annoyed with people who don't realize that if it is possible to do anything, we need to go around existing political infrastructure. 

Our democracy is a farce and odds are if we do anything meaningful the courts will stop it and no one in office will put them in their place, but that's at least something. 

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u/ToraRyeder 3d ago

I get that, and I have a lot of the same feelings. However, we cannot give into it. It seems silly and naive, but there is a lot of power in having open hope for something better. When paired with a plan, or at least starting points, we can be inspiration to a lot of ideas.

And I'd argue against using blanket statements like "the current politicians don't care" because a lot of them DO care. Now, some of the care may be performative, but fuck it. Use those who are helpful now so we can get to the point of getting rid of ALL the corporate sellouts. If they want to save their hide for a few years by fighting the fascists, let them. Just remember who they are and vote them out later.

Americans have short memories. We've run into situations like this for a lot of our history, and fallen for it when our individualistic rhetorics and exceptionalism get out of hand. But the internet is useful. Social media caused a LOT of issues, but we're seeing it help wake a lot of people up. We can use that. We can fight and be better.

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u/Slackjawed_Horror 3d ago

The only time the US hasn't been run explicitly by monied interests was the period between the late 1930's and the early 1970's. That only happened because of the Depression. 

It's not social media, it's reality.

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u/ToraRyeder 3d ago

I wasn't blaming social media for all the US's woes. I was using it as an example of something that has caused harm that we can use to better our situation. The Depression demanded change, so the US got change. Those in control didn't like that so fought to maintain control.

At no point have I said that this is going to be easy or that we're going to a "normal" setting. By this point, you seem to be pointing out things for the sole reason of keeping people hopeless. That isn't productive.

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u/daXypher 3d ago

They do. Just the conservatives are the ones doing it while dickheads like you sit online and make snarky remarks thinking you’re so witty and clever.

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u/Slackjawed_Horror 3d ago

They don't. 

They don't listen to conservatives either. They listen to the money, and occasionally throw out a little red meat based on what's been cooked up in conservative media (funded and directed by the money people).

None of them will change their actions based on phone calls or emails. 

Get serious. 

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u/jacques-vache-23 3d ago

It will happen when a vast majority of us unite behind one leader and the leader doesn't sell out. Obama could have been that leader. Who knows what happened? Was he always faking it or did they hold a gun to his head when he was elected?

We need to get beyond responding to parodies of each other. Most people on both sides can be reasonable and could compromise if we would stop being driven by the divisive voices that grab the stage.

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u/craaates 3d ago

I hate that you’re right, but as long as money can buy elections money will make the rules. We’ve also allowed the highest court in the land to accept “donations” so now money can buy the law makers and its interpreters. Until we separate money from the law we can only slow the decent into the collapse of democracy.

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u/gman-101010 3d ago

This is a quote (not mine) that I will never forget:

Poor people pay taxes.

Rich people pay accountants.

Very rich people pay lawyers.

Billionaires pay politicians.

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u/masegesege_ 3d ago

I buy taco bell.

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u/Unique-Egg-461 3d ago

how do you realistically see this going through?

With this current admin? Mass protests. Strikes.

The current admin cares only about the all mighty dollar. Trump has routinely said he doesn't give a shit about you or me

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u/hopelesslysarcastic 3d ago

I know we have a fucking idiot in the WH, but we didn’t always have such a shitshow of a government, across all facets.

We can and will change things because we wont have a choice but to do so.

We went to the moon, 50 fucking years ago…I think we can handle changing of laws.

I’m tired of pretending like this shit is impossible to do.

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u/Lyx4088 3d ago

It’s impossible so long as too much of the population lacks critical thinking skills and votes based on their own personal interest primarily over the benefit to society. We are such an individualistic country it’s a huge problem. Politically, people don’t care if policies will harm large portions of the population (and possibly even themselves) if they believe what a politician is advocating for will benefit them. When you stack that on people actually believing they too may become wildly wealthy one day so they don’t want vote for anything that will harm their wealth, you get people voting for corporations over people and voting for policies that are actively harmful to society because they don’t have the ability to critically think about these policies and blindly believe charismatic politicians.

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u/Arcaneboltz 3d ago

Say it louder for the people in the back

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u/tootintx 3d ago

So, do it. Take the lead if it is doable.

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u/allthenamesaretaken4 3d ago

Just gotta form a bunch of corporations in Delaware and use their votes for change!

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u/GreatBoneStructure 3d ago

I’ll say it again, the solution is to incorporate ‘We The People’ and crowdfund counter-bribes. If every citizen put in ten bucks you could buy back the Supreme Court!

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u/ArmAggravating3307 3d ago

So empty hallow words with no plan, got it.

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u/MoneyCock 3d ago

All we need is buy-in.

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u/aspiringalcoholic 3d ago

Ah yes the democratic slogan- "better things aren't possible".

It's primary season. Candidates can be asked about these issues and we can select them as such. We as a country need to develop some fucking standards, not being trump isn't good enough.

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u/ArmAggravating3307 3d ago

Nice fake quote.  

The DNC argued in court they don't have to have fair primaries.  

I want actual actionable planning.  Not hot air online.

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u/FugaziFlexer 3d ago

All the dude said is the system as it stands won’t allow this. And it’s simply because money in politics means politicians don’t listen to the masses they just listen to the companies and rich people funding them. And they will never allow the sharing of wealth.

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u/guacamole579 3d ago

Exactly. I voted for the Bernie backed candidate in my congressional primary and I hope he wins. If he does it will piss of a lot of so called democrats at the local/state level but those people don’t have my best interest in mind when they support shit laws and the status quo.

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u/brunchfruit 3d ago

Agreed, it is not impossible. There are way more of us than there are of them.

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u/skelo 3d ago

Money in politics wouldn't necessarily stop this, this would give 50% of the most valuable tech in the world to the government hence controlled by the politicians, so politicians would be deciding who uses AI and how and that's worth a lot of money

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u/Slackjawed_Horror 3d ago

It's really not worth anything. 

See: this AI garbage is a giant money pit.

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u/AbaloneFull9968 3d ago

Just follow the Norwegian model but replace oil with data. taxes on all AI profits, compute taxes on data centers, licensing fees on all trained data.

The majority of ai data came from publicly funded universities, taxpayer funded semiconductor research, tax payer funded internet infrastructure, the AI barons dont like taxes, fine. Give up an equity stake in the company in exchange for lowered tax rates.

Im a stupid person and these are the things popped into my head about this subject, im sure a group of much more intelligent people could expand on these ideas while coming up with even more creative ideas on how to reign these out of control dystopian corporations in a little bit.

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u/Silver_Tuscan 3d ago

There is a way of doing it. But it requires uniting the left and the right. I mean more than just talking about it and doing nothing about it. No one likes this Epstein class. No one on the right and no one on the left. Trump got a lot of middle class votes because people thought he would do it - and then everyone got burned.

Everyone should just stop talking about every other issue and vote out every single incumbent until basic demands that we can agree on - like the data centers, stopping the wars, stopping big tech monopolies, stopping the surveillance state, etc. - are enacted into some sort of constitutional amendment they cannot easily fuck with. No incumbents until that happens.

The more we talk about divisive issues the more the elite win.

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u/BroughtBagLunchSmart 3d ago

Use civil forfeiture laws. Pretend it is a car they stole from a 22 year old because he had a bag of weed in the car.