OpenAI calls for robot taxes, a public wealth fund, and a 4-day workweek to tackle AI disruption

• OpenAI has released a list of policy ideas to combat a wave of AI-fuelled economic upheaval.
• They include a public wealth fund and experimenting with a four-day workweek.
• Fears are growing about a wave of AI-powered job losses as the technology continues to advance.

OpenAI has some big ideas about how to deal with the wave of AI-disruption as we approach superintelligence.

In a series of policy recommendations released on Monday, OpenAI said the rapid advance of AI would require far-reaching economic and political reforms, including a public wealth fund, taxes on automated labor, and a potential four-day workweek.

"We're beginning a transition toward superintelligence: AI systems capable of outperforming the smartest humans even when they are assisted by AI. No one knows exactly how this transition will unfold. At OpenAI, we believe we should navigate it through a democratic process that gives people real power to shape the AI future they want," the company wrote on Monday.

The company said the policy document offered a series of "initial ideas" to address the risk of "jobs and entire industries being disrupted" by the adoption of AI tools.

Among the core policy suggestions is a public wealth fund, which would see lawmakers and AI companies work together to invest in long-term assets linked to the AI boom, with returns distributed directly to citizens.

Another is that the government should encourage and incentivize employers to experiment with four-day workweeks with no loss in pay and offer "benefits bonuses" tied to productivity gains from new AI tools.

The policy document also calls on lawmakers to modernize the tax system by shifting the tax base to corporate income and capital gains, rather than relying on labor income and payroll taxes that could be hit by a wave of AI-powered job losses. It also recommends exploring new approaches, such as "taxes related to automated labor."

OpenAI also called for the accelerated expansion of the US' electricity grid, which is already feeling the strain from a wave of data center construction and energy demand for training ever more powerful AI models.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.