Sanders Defends AI Nationalization Plan
The Vermont senator called the current economic landscape “much worse” than the Gilded Age.
WASHINGTON, June 8, 2026 – Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, is not backing down from government-control of big Artificial Intelligence firms, though key details remain missing.
Sanders reiterated his calls for public ownership of AI companies at an event Monday hosted by the National Press Club.
One focus of the event was the connection between emerging AI technologies and income inequality in the United States. Sen. Sanders called the economic landscape in contemporary America “much worse” than that of the Gilded Age. He argued that his proposal was particularly timely amidst the industry’s rapid innovation.
“I am talking to Nobel Prize winning scientists who say there will be a time sooner or later, likely sooner, where AI will be smarter than human beings and may, in fact, function independently of humans and that that could be catastrophic to humanity.”
His proposal includes public ownership of half of the stock of the “major not the small” AI companies which would be placed in a sovereign wealth fund for Americans. Sanders did not specify what would qualify as a “major” AI company.
When asked how public representation would look, the senator responded, “We’re working on it. Probably at this point it may be something like what exists right now—the president may make nominations to be approved by the Senate.”
Sanders also reiterated his calls for other measures pertaining to AI, including a moratorium on the construction of data centers. The senator praised the several local moratoriums that have taken effect across the country.
“When I introduced that moratorium with [Rep.] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [N.Y.], we're extremists, we were radicals. It’s moving all over the country more and more communities understand they want to slow it down," Sanders said.
When asked if he was considering a White House run in 2028, Sanders responded, “I suspect that’s not going to happen.”
