Buterin backs AI nationalization, says firms use China as excuse for monopoly

Vitalik Buterin has expressed support for a proposal from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders to nationalize a portion of major AI companies. Sanders argued that leading firms like OpenAI and xAI have accumulated wealth by training on humanity's collective knowledge without permission and proposed that 50% of their equity be collected as a one-time stock tax for a federal sovereign wealth fund. Buterin echoed this sentiment, stating that while frontier AI companies touted their contributions to humanity in the 2010s, they are now using China as an excuse to monopolize power. He added that these companies are securing monopolies while hiding behind the banners of security and nationalism.