A majority of U.S. employees want AI companies to share their spoils with the public. A new CNBC survey of 1,690 U.S. adults finds that 69% of workers support forcing AI companies to transfer 50% of their stock to a public sovereign wealth fund — a proposal gaining traction as tech layoffs surge past 140,000 in 2026.
The survey, conducted in June and reported July 12, reveals a striking shift in public sentiment. With tech layoffs now occurring at a rate of roughly one worker every 100 seconds, and AI cited as the primary reason for job cuts in over 27,600 of those layoffs this year alone, workers are increasingly looking for systemic solutions.
"The idea of an AI sovereign wealth fund is gaining momentum because it speaks directly to the anxiety workers feel," the report notes. "As AI automates more tasks, the people whose labor built these companies want a stake in the wealth being created."
The concept, inspired by models like Norway's oil sovereign wealth fund, would create a public trust — managed by an independent board — that holds equity in major AI companies. Dividends and capital gains would flow back to citizens, potentially as direct payments or as funding for public services disrupted by automation.
Proponents argue that AI wealth generated from data and labor contributed by the entire society should benefit everyone, not just shareholders and executives. Critics counter that forced stock transfers would discourage investment and innovation at a critical moment in the technology's development.
Yet the numbers are hard to ignore. Tech companies have announced over 140,000 job cuts in 2026, with AI-driven automation cited as a factor in roughly 13% of all U.S. job cut plans, up from just 5% the previous year. The acceleration has fueled a broader conversation about how to distribute the gains of artificial intelligence.
Several state legislatures are already exploring sovereign wealth fund proposals, and the idea has drawn interest from both progressive and some libertarian-leaning tech thinkers who see it as a market-friendly alternative to heavier regulation or windfall taxes.
For now, the debate remains theoretical — but with nearly 7 in 10 workers on board, the political pressure for action is only likely to grow.
