Statement on the Trump administration’s proposed stake in OpenAI

This statement is in response to breaking news. Please contact pr@rstreet.org to speak with the scholar.

The Trump administration is moving to take a 5 percent stake in leading artificial intelligence (AI) developer OpenAI. The R Street Institute recently published an essay, “The United States Must Reject Government Control of Artificial Intelligence,” that explains why such government equity stake arrangements in technology firms would be a serious mistake. 

Elaborating on this, R Street Senior Fellow Adam Thierer said of the new proposal for government to take stakes in OpenAI:

“This is a troubling move that will give the government greater control over one of America’s leading technology sectors. Equity stake arrangements like this will politicize the AI industry and encourage companies to spend more time currying favor with Uncle Sam rather than consumers. This is a recipe for cronyism and regulatory capture instead of competition and innovation. 

History shows that when governments take more control over important industries and technologies, it undermines the vibrancy of those sectors. It also results in a lack of transparency and accountability as political mandates gradually come to replace market discipline. Worse yet, with AI technologies, the potential for speech meddling is a serious concern because government ownership gives politicians more leverage to directly or indirectly influence what AI models produce. 

It is also worth remembering that leading AI labs still are not profitable, and many critics think we might be in an AI bubble that could burst at some point. If that happens, firms with government stakes might look for taxpayer-backed bailouts to save the day.”