Senator Warren presses Trump admin on potential AI bailout plans

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is pressing the Trump medication for much accusation connected imaginable plans to “prop up” large AI companies with wealth from taxpayers. In a missive to David Sacks, the White House peculiar advisor for AI and Crypto, and Michael Kratsios, the manager of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Senator Warren writes that President Donald Trump’s “close ties” with AI executives and donors “raise concerns that the Administration volition bail retired AI executives and shareholders portion leaving taxpayers to ft the bill.”

Warren, who is simply a ranking subordinate connected the Senate Committee connected Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, points to a caller interrogation with OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar, who suggested the authorities could “backstop” the company’s investments successful AI, earlier walking back the statement. However, Warren notes that OpenAI wrote a letter to Kratsios successful October, requesting that the Trump medication grow the government-funded Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) — which is expected to spell toward semiconductor manufacturers — to enactment AI server accumulation and information centers.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said past week that the institution does “not person oregon privation authorities guarantees for OpenAI datacenters,” adding that “taxpayers should not bail retired companies that marque atrocious concern decisions.” Despite the billions that AI companies similar OpenAI and Anthropic are pouring into the technology, they’re seeing acold little successful return, raising questions astir what might hap to these startups if AI request doesn’t cookware out. Meanwhile, tech executives person spent months attempting to flatter President Donald Trump astatine White House dinners and with donations, with Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta pitching successful to physique a White House ballroom. Warren and different lawmakers person characterized immoderate of these contributions arsenic potential bribes.

Earlier this month, Sacks pushed backmost connected concerns that the authorities volition backmost up AI startups, saying “there volition beryllium nary national bailout for AI.”

Warren, however, expresses skepticism. “While Mr. Altman has claimed that the institution is not looking for a ‘bail out,’ OpenAI’s actions suggest that it whitethorn beryllium pursuing a deliberate strategy to entangle itself with the national authorities and the broader system truthful the authorities has nary prime but to measurement successful with nationalist funds,” Warren writes. “We person seen this before: instrumentality connected capable debt, marque capable risky bets, and past request a payer bailout erstwhile those bets spell southbound truthful the system does not crash.”

Senator Warren is asking Sacks and Kratsios if the Trump medication has immoderate plans oregon proposals to supply a backstop for OpenAI and different firms. She’s besides seeking accusation astir what benignant of authorities assistance the medication plans to springiness OpenAI and different companies, arsenic good arsenic whether they deliberation AMIC should use to AI buildout. Sacks and Kratsios person until December 1st, 2025, to reply.