A new bill would tax AI tokens to fund jobs if the technology causes mass unemployment

If with AI comes unemployment, this group of lawmakers wants AI companies to foot the tax bill. A new House proposal would impose an excise tax on major AI companies and automatically raise the rate if unemployment climbs, funneling the money into creating jobs in areas from housing construction and infrastructure to child and elder care. “If Congress does nothing, the rise of AI could create the biggest wealth transfer in history from the bottom to the top,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs in a joint press release of the bill. “If AI profits off human work, workers deserve job security and a share of those profits. Introduced by Jacobs along with Reps. The bill is the most recent attempt in a concerted effort from Congress to combat potential job displacement as a result of AI. Foushee and Casar previously introduced legislation directing the Government Accountability Office to study jobs created, lost or changed by AI, while Jacobs co-introduced a separate bill requiring large employers and federal agencies to disclose AI-related layoffs to the Department of Labor. In the Senate, Ron Wyden proposed changing the tax treatment of AI data centers and creating a new excise tax, with some of the revenue used to help workers displaced by the technology. Even lawmakers who aren’t proposing taxing AI companies directly are preparing for labor disruption. Jim Banks, Maggie Hassan, John Hickenlooper, and Jon Husted introduced the bipartisan AI Workforce PREPARE Act , which would require better federal tracking of layoffs in which AI is a substantial factor, improve Bureau of Labor Statistics automation-related occupational forecasts, and study a rapid retraining program for workers displaced by AI. Tech leaders worry about AI job displacement The fear of job displacement is shared by the very leaders in the tech space.