On Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Americans may be helping fuel the AI boom through everyday use of platforms such as Meta Platforms, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:META) Instagram and Gmail, owned by Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, arguing that Big Tech should be taxed.
Elizabeth Warren Calls for AI Taxes
The Massachusetts Democrat raised the issue in a post on X, asking users whether they use Instagram or Gmail and warning that their online activity could be contributing to AI development.
"Big Tech has turned what all of us helped create into a trillion-dollar industry," Warren wrote. "It’s time to tax AI so you can share in its success."
Meta and Google did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
Warren has previously called for policymakers to "tax AI and invest in people," arguing that rapid automation could widen economic inequality, displace workers and concentrate more wealth among major technology companies and wealthy investors.
She has also said the tax system should not encourage corporations to replace employees with machines.
Bernie Sanders Proposes $7 Trillion, AI Fund
In June, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation to give the public a financial stake in the growth of major AI companies.
Under the proposed American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, leading AI companies would make a one-time contribution equal to 50% of their stock to a federally managed investment fund. Sanders’ office estimated that the fund could eventually grow to approximately $7 trillion.
AI Training Data Raises Privacy and Ownership Questions
The debate also highlights concerns over how user-generated content is collected and used to develop AI systems.
Poonacha Machaiah, co-founder of Cyberhuman.ai, wrote an article Medium, in which he said that the familiar phrase, "When something is free, you are the product," is especially relevant in the digital age.
He argued that social platforms have become vast sources of information, with posts, images, videos and online interactions potentially serving as valuable inputs for AI technologies.
"Every post, image, video, and interaction you share is meticulously collected, analyzed, and transformed into the lifeblood of cutting-edge AI models," Machaiah wrote, while warning that the process raises questions about privacy, transparency and ethical data use.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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