69% of Americans Back AI Sovereign Wealth Fund, Survey Finds

Nearly seven in ten Americans now support establishing a sovereign wealth fund that would require artificial intelligence companies to transfer half their equity to public ownership, according to new polling data that underscores growing frustration with tech industry layoffs.

The national survey of 1,690 adults, conducted by research firm Verasight in June, found that 69% of respondents favor mandating AI firms contribute 50% of their stock to a public fund. The sentiment reflects mounting concern over job security as corporations simultaneously announce workforce reductions and expand capital expenditures for AI infrastructure.

Why it matters

The polling reveals a significant shift in public attitudes toward technology ownership and wealth distribution. As AI systems reshape the economy, workers increasingly view concentrated private ownership of transformative technologies as incompatible with broad economic security—a perspective that could influence future regulatory debates and corporate governance.

Legislative proposal gains traction

The survey results arrive alongside Senator Bernie Sanders' American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, introduced in June. The proposed legislation would grant the public a 50% stake in the largest U.S. artificial intelligence companies.

"It would guarantee that the economic benefits generated by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us—not simply to make the richest people in the world even richer," Sanders stated when announcing the bill.

Benjamin Leff, chief executive of Verasight, noted that respondents view such funds as mechanisms to redistribute gains from the AI sector across society rather than allowing them to concentrate among technology executives and investors.

Job displacement concerns fuel support

The push for shared ownership comes as tech sector layoffs accelerate despite strong corporate earnings. Goldman Sachs Senior Global Economist Joseph Briggs projects that more than 9% of the U.S. labor force—approximately 15 million workers—could lose positions during a decade-long AI transition period, according to a report published last month.

Briggs characterized the potential disruption as comparable to automation shocks experienced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, Goldman Sachs research suggests these losses may prove temporary, with AI expected to generate new employment categories over the long term.

Implementation challenges ahead

Sovereign wealth funds focused on AI could serve multiple functions, according to research firm Windfall Trust. They might finance capital-intensive AI infrastructure, acquire equity positions in technology companies, and channel AI-driven economic returns to public treasuries.

Yet such funds would face inherent tensions between competing objectives. Windfall Trust research identifies a potential conflict between maximizing financial returns for citizens and building domestic AI capabilities, particularly when optimal investments involve foreign rather than domestic companies. Balancing public benefit against competitive pressures in the global AI race presents additional governance complexities.

The survey findings and legislative activity were first reported by CNBC.