WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� It was perhaps a surprising private overture from to Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The meeting between the two had come just after announced a plan for the public to take a 50% ownership stake in artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI, using their stock to create a public wealth fund that would spread the fortune generated by AI behemoths.
Altman told Sanders that he, too, wants the public to have equity in AI companies. Though the CEO said he couldn鈥檛 support Sanders鈥� threshold of 50%, he nonetheless wanted to work with him to advocate for the general idea, according to people with knowledge of the conversation.
The nearly hourlong meeting in Sanders鈥� Senate office this week, held at Altman’s request, highlighted the inherent tension between and policymakers as Americans are increasingly asked to accept the costs of the AI boom even as they remain unconvinced of its direct benefits. Yet it’s also creating odd political bedfellows fueled by populism as politicians from Sanders to President Donald Trump embrace giving the public a stake in AI’s growth.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump described a potential partnership 鈥渨here the American people can benefit from the success of AI” and said executives from leading AI companies will visit the White House, 鈥減robably next week,鈥� to discuss the idea.
鈥淭here鈥檚 something very interesting about it, where it almost becomes a partnership with the American public,鈥� Trump, a Republican, said Friday.
When reporters noted to Trump that Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, had proposed public ownership in AI companies, he pointed to similarities in their coalitions. The economic views of Trump voters and voters who supported Sanders for president, Trump said, 鈥渁ren鈥檛 that far apart.鈥�
Trump has embraced government investment in private companies in his second term, scrambling his party鈥檚 politics. His administration last year secured a in the struggling Silicon Valley company Intel, and it considered a government takeover of Spirit Airlines earlier this year, although the airline couldn鈥檛 reach a deal and .
Public backlash is becoming harder to ignore
The positioning of leading figures such as Trump and Sanders comes as concerns about AI are emerging far beyond Washington.
In Michigan, Democrats recently clashed over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer鈥檚 appearance with Altman at the site of a major data center. Candidates such as hopeful Alex Bores have also made AI regulation a campaign issue by tapping into voters鈥� angst about the technology.
鈥淭his is a real change to society,鈥� Altman told reporters this week. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 possible both that people can use AI a lot and like using it and also have anxiety about what it鈥檚 going to do for the future.鈥�
Data center projects across the country have drawn opposition from residents concerned about electricity demand, water consumption and environmental impacts. Some states once eager to attract the facilities, including Ohio and Virginia, have moved to reconsider tax incentives.
鈥淲e need to pass legislation right now that says there鈥檚 not going to be any further data center development until they agree to pay for their own electricity, build their own grids and pay for their own water supply,鈥� Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a leading Republican skeptic of Big Tech, told The Associated Press.
Before arriving in Washington, Altman stopped in Michigan on Monday to appear alongside Whitmer, a Democrat, at the building site of a 1.65 million-square-foot data center. Whitmer鈥檚 team claimed the project will 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 鈥渄isgusting.鈥� She said she was 鈥渟o disappointed鈥� in Whitmer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very controversial topic right now and it鈥檚 coming from the ground up,鈥� Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, said about the grassroots pushback. 鈥淧eople feel very strongly about it.”
Whitmer, however, told reporters after the event that 鈥渙ne thing鈥檚 very clear, everyone has a cellphone in our pocket.鈥�
鈥淲e are all, more and more, consuming technology and data and these data centers are going to get built. So, my thought is if we can hold them to a high standard and do it in Michigan, that鈥檚 the best way to do it,鈥� she said.
The tensions extend beyond data centers. On , commencement speakers have been interrupted by boos when discussing artificial intelligence. About 70% of college students see AI as a threat to their job prospects, according to a 2025 poll by the at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Altman acknowledged those concerns. He said that while 鈥渢he impact on jobs has been less than many people in our field expected,” he understands 鈥渢hat college students have a lot of anxiety about the future.”
Washington searches for an AI bargain
The idea that AI鈥檚 expansion is inevitable is increasingly shared by leaders across the political spectrum, even as they disagree sharply about how to manage it.
That reality was at the center of Altman鈥檚 conversations in Washington. In addition to Sanders, Altman met with Trump administration officials such as Michael Kratsios, the White House’s chief science and technology adviser, and congressional leaders from both parties.
Sanders’ team emphasized that the two did not reach an agreement on the main points that the senator made to Altman, including the 50% figure so the public has decision-making power. Sanders also expressed opposition to the growing election spending by the AI industry.
鈥淯nfortunately, Sam Altman did not commit to any of those,鈥� said Sanders’ spokesperson Jeremy Slevin.
Altman, in emerging from the conversation, described it as 鈥済reat,鈥� adding that the two 鈥渙bviously don鈥檛 agree on everything.鈥�
Policy makers are also looking at how AI should be governed
Congress this week released a bipartisan framework that would establish the first broad federal approach to AI regulation while temporarily preempting many state laws.
Anthropic, one of OpenAI鈥檚 top competitors, for coordinating pauses on advanced AI development if systems become too powerful.
The Trump administration has also its own oversight structure, signing an executive order to establish a process for reviewing national security risks posed by advanced AI systems before their public release.
Sanders said he found the administration’s move notable after years of warnings that regulation could slow American innovation.
鈥淓ven these guys are beginning to catch on that there are legitimate concerns that have to be dealt with,” Sanders said.
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