Washington– Perhaps this was a surprising special introduction from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman For Senator Bernie Sanders.
The meeting between the two came shortly after that Senator from Vermont It announced a plan to the public to take a 50% ownership stake in AI companies like OpenAI, using its shares to create a public wealth fund that would spread the wealth generated by AI giants.
Altman told Sanders that he also wants the public to own shares in AI companies. Although the CEO said he couldn’t support Sanders’ 50% threshold, he wanted to work with him to defend the overall idea, according to people familiar with the conversation.
The nearly hour-long meeting in Sanders’ Senate office this week, held at Altman’s request, highlighted the deep-rooted tension between the two parties. Artificial intelligence powers And policymakers at a time when Americans are increasingly being asked to accept the costs of the AI boom even as they remain unconvinced of its immediate benefits. However, it also creates strange political bedfellows fueled by populism, as politicians from Sanders to President Donald Trump embrace giving the public a stake in the growth of artificial intelligence.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump touted a potential partnership “where the American people can benefit from the success of AI,” and said executives from leading AI companies would visit the White House, “possibly next week,” to discuss the idea.
“There’s something very interesting about this, where it almost becomes a partnership with the American public,” Trump, a Republican, said on Friday.
When reporters pointed out to Trump that Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, had proposed public ownership in AI companies, he pointed out the similarities in their coalitions. Trump said the economic views of Trump voters and voters who supported Sanders for president were “not that far apart.”
Trump embraced government investment in private companies in his second term, muddying his party’s policies. Last year, his administration obtained an A 10% share At struggling Intel in Silicon Valley, it considered a government takeover of Spirit Airlines earlier this year, although the airline was unable to reach an agreement and Finally closed.
The appointments of prominent figures such as Trump and Sanders come at a time when concerns about artificial intelligence are emerging beyond Washington.
In Michigan, Democrats recently clashed over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s appearance with Altman at a major data center site. Candidates like New York House Democrats Aggrieved Alex Burris has also made AI regulation a campaign issue by exploiting voters’ anxiety about the technology.
“This is a real change in society,” Altman told reporters this week. “I think it’s possible that people will use AI a lot and love using it, and also be worried about what it will do in the future.”
Data center projects across the country have drawn opposition from residents concerned about electricity demand, water consumption and environmental impacts. Some states that were once eager to attract utilities, including Ohio and Virginia, have moved to reconsider tax incentives.
“We need to pass legislation now that says there won’t be any additional data center development until they agree to pay for their own electricity, build their own networks and pay for their own water supply,” Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley told The Associated Press.
Before arriving in Washington, Altman stopped in Michigan on Monday to appear alongside Whitmer, a Democrat, at the construction site of a 1.65 million square foot data center. Whitmer’s team claimed the project would create more than 2,500 union construction jobs.
But it also drew criticism from local activists and some Democrats, including Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who called the project “disgusting.” She said she was “very disappointed” in Whitmer.
“It’s a very controversial topic right now, and it’s coming from the ground up,” Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said of grassroots opposition. “People feel very strongly about this.”
However, Whitmer told reporters after the event that “one thing is very clear, everyone has a cell phone in their pocket.”
“We’re all increasingly consuming technology and data, and these data centers are going to be built. So, my idea is if we can take it to a high level and do it in Michigan, this is the best way to do it,” she said.
Tensions extend beyond data centers. on Campusspeakers at the graduation ceremony were interrupted by booing when discussing artificial intelligence. About 70% of college students see AI as a threat to their job prospects, according to a 2025 Foundation poll. Policy Institute At Harvard Kennedy School.
Altman acknowledged these concerns. He said that although “the impact on jobs has been less than many people in our field expected,” he realizes “college students have a lot of anxiety about the future.”
The idea that the expansion of artificial intelligence is inevitable is increasingly shared by leaders across the political spectrum, even as they disagree sharply about how to manage it.
This fact was the focus of Altman’s talks in Washington. In addition to Sanders, Altman met with Trump administration officials such as Michael Kratsios, the White House’s senior science and technology adviser, and congressional leaders from both parties.
Sanders’ team emphasized that the two had not reached an agreement on key points the senator presented to Altman, including the 50% figure so that the public would have the power to decide. Sanders has also expressed his opposition to increased campaign spending by the artificial intelligence industry.
“Unfortunately, Sam Altman has not committed to any of this,” Sanders spokesman Jeremy Slevin said.
After exiting the conversation, Altman described the conversation as “fantastic,” adding that the two “clearly don’t agree on everything.”
This week, Congress released a bipartisan framework that would establish the first broad federal approach to regulating artificial intelligence while temporarily preempting many state laws.
Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s top competitors, Mechanisms have been proposed To coordinate pauses in advanced AI development if systems become too powerful.
As did the Trump administration Construction has begun and its own oversight structure, and the signing of an executive order to establish a process to review national security risks posed by advanced artificial intelligence systems before they are released to the public.
Sanders said he found the administration’s move notable after years of warnings that regulation could slow American innovation.
“Even these people are starting to realize that there are legitimate concerns that need to be addressed,” Sanders said.