'The public will become very rich': Trump wants Americans to get a cut of the AI boom — and some Big Tech CEOs don't hate the idea

“If we do that, the public will become very rich.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Moneywise on which AI executives are expected to attend.

It’s the second time in a week that Trump suggested designing a way for Americans to directly benefit from the explosion in AI-related spending among U.S. tech companies and the anticipated profits. However, it’s unclear how such an arrangement would be structured without significantly deepening the federal government’s role in the private sector, which has long been anathema to Republicans.

Trump first suggested the idea of a U.S. government stake in AI companies as a way to improve AI’s lackluster standing among Americans at the beginning of June.

“There are concepts where pieces could be given to the American public, where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies,” said Trump, according to Politico. “The American people can benefit from the success of AI — and by doing that, they’re going to like it better.”

Multiple surveys show mounting skepticism among Americans about AI’s benefits due to fears over job losses and frustration with surging electricity bills from an accelerated deployment of data centers. On the latter, seven in ten Americans are opposed to the presence of a data center near their home, according to a Heatmap poll.

AI is under Washington’s spotlight

NOTUS reported last week that AI executives were caught off guard by Trump’s announcement of a White House meeting.

Some CEOs in the AI industry have become more active in Washington as policymakers grapple with how to police the AI industry. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in early June to discuss AI regulation.

“This is a real change to society,” Altman told reporters, according to the Associated Press. “I think it’s possible both that people can use AI a lot and like using it and also have anxiety about what it’s going to do for the future.”