As governments are challenged by the economic impact of superintelligent machines, OpenAI has published policy proposals to reshape wealth and work in the “intelligence age.” These proposals mix left-leaning approaches like public wealth funds and expanded social safety nets with a capitalist, market-driven framework.
OpenAI’s proposals serve as a public declaration to help officials, investors, and the public understand the company’s vision for an AI-transformed labor and economy landscape.
The release comes amid growing AI-related anxieties, including job displacement and wealth concentration concerns, and during the Trump administration’s development of a national AI framework, signaling a bipartisan effort. OpenAI President Greg Brockman and other billionaires have invested in super PACs supporting light AI policies.
The proposals aim to distribute AI-driven prosperity broadly, build safeguards against systemic risks, and ensure widespread AI access to prevent economic power concentration.
OpenAI suggests shifting the tax burden from labor to capital, warning that AI growth might reduce the tax base supporting social programs. The company considers higher taxes on corporate income, AI-driven profits, or capital gains, including a potential robot tax, to maintain system funding.
A Public Wealth Fund proposal would give Americans a public stake in AI companies and returns distributed to citizens, appealing to those seeing AI inflate the market without direct benefits.
OpenAI’s labor-focused proposals include subsidizing a four-day work week, boosting retirement matches, covering healthcare costs, and subsidizing care, framing these as corporate responsibilities.
OpenAI also supports portable benefit accounts across jobs but suggests they likely rely on employers, falling short of universal government-backed coverage for displaced workers.
Acknowledging risks beyond job loss, OpenAI recommends containment plans for dangerous AI, oversight bodies, and safeguards against high-risk uses like cyberattacks.
Growth proposals include electricity infrastructure expansion and AI buildouts accelerated by subsidies, tax credits, or equity stakes, aiming for AI to remain affordable and available.
OpenAI’s framework follows Anthropic’s policy responses to AI-driven disruptions.
“We are entering a new phase of economic and social organization,” OpenAI wrote, calling for a “new industrial policy agenda” to ensure superintelligence benefits all.
OpenAI, initially a nonprofit for AI benefiting humanity, became for-profit last year, raising criticism about its mission versus shareholder duties.
Citing past economic upheavals like the Industrial Age, OpenAI highlights movements like the New Deal for broader opportunity and security with public institutions and protections.
“The transition to superintelligence requires an ambitious industrial policy for a democratic, collective economic future,” OpenAI stated.