Congressional Candidate Proposes AI Dividend to Pay Americans Facing Job Displacement

House Candidate Unveils Plan to Pay Americans Who Face AI Job Displacement

A prominent congressional candidate in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections just unveiled a striking new AI policy that is bound to ruffle some feathers in Silicon Valley. New York assemblymember Alex Bores, a Democrat who is running for a House seat, unveiled his proposal for an AI Dividend program on Monday that would have the government send direct payments to Americans whose jobs are replaced by AI. "The AI Dividend is about expanding freedom and choice. It gives Americans a direct stake in the wealth generated by AIâ€"room to adapt, learn new skills, care for family, start something new, or simply keep up in an economy changing faster than government has prepared for," Bores said in a memo announcing the policy proposal. "It's a way to ensure that if AI transforms the economy, it strengthens the country, not just the balance sheets of a few companies." On top of the direct payments, the government would also allocate funds under the program to workforce transition, training, and education. The program is meant to address a much-feared jobs armageddon that the AI industry and the corporate world at large have been warning about for the past year. Executives across industries are increasingly eager to integrate artificial intelligence tools into their workflows in the boundless capitalist quest for productivity, at times at the expense of workers, whose job losses have come to be viewed as collateral damage. Over the past year, a long list of companies have frozen hiring or downsized teams altogether while pointing the finger at productivity gains from AI, even when said gains have been contested. The result has been somewhat of a growing PR crisis for AI, one bad enough that even Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had to weigh in and caution executives to change the way they frame AI's impact on labor. Some studies have found evidence that AI is already causing an impact on the job market. In a report from earlier this year, the Irish government said that employment for young workers had been declining in industries with high exposure to AI. Stateside, a Stanford study from August linked corporate AI initiatives to a particularly bad job market for young graduates, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell admitted AI's influence on the young graduate unemployment rates, but the data coming out of the federal government is limited. For months now, economists and senators have urged the Department of Labor to expand its research into AI's impact on the job market. "For decades, new technologies have created more jobs than they destroyed. But AI is different," Bores' memo reads. "For the first time, the people building the technology are explicitly trying to automate all human labor. They may not succeedâ€"but the fact that they are trying means government needs to take the possibility seriously." The program would kick in at the moment the government decides that AI has begun to "meaningfully" displace workers. The memo describes that meaningful change as either a persistent decline in labor force participation, a compression of wages in sectors affected the most by AI, or a notable increase in AI-driven productivity without a parallel measure of job growth. The funds would come from "a combination of AI-linked revenue mechanisms," according to the memo. These mechanisms could include the federal government taking equity stakes in major AI firms or a complete tax code reform, which would include a "modest tax" on AI consumption that would be tied to the amount of tokens used. "If AI can substitute for labor rather than complement it, then our tax code is actively subsidizing job elimination. We encourage companies to invest in AI by making it cheaper through tax breaks, while taxing the wages of the workers being displaced," the memo writes. "Taxing the thing that is growing, AI, rather than the thing that is shrinking, wages, is simply sound fiscal management for the country." Bores, who also co-sponsored the landmark New York state-level AI safety legislation RAISE Act, called the AI Dividend program only "a first step" in broader AI regulation. Bores' stance as an AI hawk has made him the prime target of pro-AI and anti-regulation super PACs, most notably "Leading The Future," which is backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, and the AI search engine company Perplexity. With the big spenders in the AI industry making huge financial commitments to sway races, candidates like Alex Bores making AI regulation a core part of their campaign platforms, and the impact of AI becoming more top of mind for voters, its looking like voters are not only choosing the next Congress in the 2026 midterms but will actively be deciding what the future of AI regulation and adoption in the U.S. is going to look like.

Exclusive: Alex Bores rolls out "AI dividend" plan to share AI wealth

Why it matters: Bores is leaning into anxiety over AI's impact on jobs as voters grow more wary of the technology's economic impacts, even as deep-pocketed tech interests spend big to defeat him. Driving the news: Bores' plan, shared exclusively with Axios, comes as AI super PACs ramp up spending against his campaign. * "At its core, the AI Dividend is simple: if AI dramatically increases productivity and concentrates wealth, the American people have a stake in those gains," a memo on the policy reads. * The dividend would fund direct payments to Americans. * It would also be invested into workforce training and education, as well government capacity to "govern AI safely and fund independent oversight," per the plan memo. What they're saying: "You don't take out fire insurance because you expect your house to burn down -- you have insurance in case something goes awry," Bores told Axios in an interview. * "Here we have, for the first time, a technology where the makers of the technology are explicitly saying that their goal is to replace all human labor." * "The fact that they've put it out there means government needs to take it seriously." Between the lines: Even if Bores' bid for federal office and his dividend plan go nowhere, his focus reflects a broader national uncertainty about how AI will reshape daily life and work. Bores' team describes the AI dividend in the policy memo as a "direct payment program that kicks in if and when AI meaningfully displaces American workers." * "It is not a punishment for innovation -- it is an insurance policy." The proposal would be funded through: * A token tax, described in the memo as a "modest tax on AI consumption" * Equity participation in frontier AI firms * Changes to the tax code that would reduce incentives to invest in AI "when it leads to less work" Bores says an AI dividend is urgent because he thinks the window for policy solutions will close once mass job displacement and concentrated wealth happens. The intrigue: Bores' plan echoes warnings that AI CEOs themselves have been giving about job losses and AI, and ideas they've floated about how Americans can share in the wealth of their companies. * Still, pro-AI growth super PACs funded by AI billionaires have poured money into defeating Bores. * In addition to making AI safety and regulation a key part of his congressional campaign, Bores co-authored the RAISE Act, New York's frontier AI safety law. * "If [AI companies] they can support this plan, that would show that they actually believe in what they're putting out there," Bores said. "If they're not doing it, then I think it shows that they're really putting window dressing out there." The bottom line: Expect to see more candidates across the country preparing to answer to voter anxiety on AI and job loss.

Lose Your Job to AI? New York Lawmaker Proposes 'AI Dividend' Stimmy - Decrypt

The policy however does not mention how much each American would receive or how often. As industry experts continue to warn that artificial intelligence could disrupt the global labor market, Alex Bores, a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly who is running for the U.S. Congress, has proposed an "AI Dividend" -- a policy that would provide payments to Americans if the technology significantly reduces employment. Bores announced the AI Dividend on Monday in a post on X. The proposal would create a contingency payment program tied to economic signals that suggest automation is displacing workers. "CEOs are openly warning that AI will significantly reduce white-collar employment," the policy said. "Forecasters project that 50% of jobs could be automated in the coming years, with entry-level positions especially vulnerable." According to the AI Dividend framework, triggers for payments include sustained declines in labor force participation, wage compression in affected sectors, or rapid increases in AI-driven productivity without corresponding job growth." If the triggers are met, then the program would distribute direct payments to Americans while also funding workforce transition programs, educational initiatives, and government oversight initiatives. While the framework aims to ensure the AI dividend activates based on real-world conditions, not political discretion, it does not mention how much money each eligible American will receive or the frequency at which payments will go out. The policy comes as developers of major AI tools, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, and Tesla and xAI CEO Elon Musk, warn that the technology could eliminate large numbers of jobs and automate significant portions of human work. "What is striking to me about this AI boom is that it's bigger, it's broader, and it's moving faster than anything has before," Amodei told CNN last summer. "Compared to previous technology changes, I'm a little bit more worried about the labor impact, simply because it's happening so fast that, yes, people will adapt, but they may not adapt fast enough." The document frames the proposal as preparation for that possibility rather than as a direct response to current economic conditions. "No one knows exactly how this will play out," the policy said. "But what we do know is this: if AI replaces a significant share of human labor, our current economic system is not prepared." Funding mechanisms in the AI dividend framework include a tax on AI usage measured in tokens, equity warrants that would allow the federal government to purchase shares in major AI companies if their value rises significantly, and tax reforms that address incentives favoring capital investment over wages. Bores' framework argues that designing policies that protect human workers before large-scale disruption occurs may be easier than attempting to redistribute economic gains later. "The AI Dividend is only possible if we act now. Once a small number of companies have accumulated extraordinary wealth and displaced workers across the economy, the political and practical window for creative policy closes," it reads. "Demanding stakes in companies after they have already captured the value is far harder than building smart structures today, while the technology is still taking shape." The office of Representative Bores did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Decrypt.

Proposed AI Dividend Would be Funded by Taxes on AI and Paid to US Citizens

The proposed AI dividend would be funded by taxes on AI use and equity stakes in AI companies, paying US citizens if automation meaningfully displaces workers. A New York state assemblymember and congressional candidate has proposed an artificial intelligence dividend program for US citizens to address potential job losses stemming from advances in AI technology. In an X post on Sunday, New York lawmaker Alex Bores outlined a plan to prepare the US and its citizens for the "potential large-scale displacement of human labor by artificial intelligence." "Today, I'm proud to announce the AI Dividend, my plan to prepare for the AI economy with direct payments to Americans funded by tax reform that simultaneously incentivizes hiring humans instead of AI," he said. Bores' move comes amid growing concerns that AI could eventually drive mass unemployment. According to a recent Goldman Sachs report, AI adoption has resulted in the loss of about 16,000 jobs per month over the past year. The proposed program would be funded through avenues such as a tax on AI use, equity stakes in leading AI companies, and tax reforms to the "treatment of labor and capital." Bores is currently touting the policy as part of his run for a seat in Congress, and its progress in getting off the ground may be dependent on the success of his campaign. Alongside paying dividends to US citizens, the funds would also go toward investments in "workforce transition, training and education" and establishing oversight and safety infrastructure. "At its core, the AI Dividend is simple: if AI dramatically increases productivity and concentrates wealth, the American people have a stake in those gains," the dividend plan read. "The AI Dividend is a direct payment program that kicks in when and if AI meaningfully displaces American workers. It is not a punishment for innovation -- it is an insurance policy." High-profile US tech giants such as Amazon, Meta, Intel and Microsoft have either already laid off thousands of workers or have reportedly planned to, due to efficiencies created by AI. However, global investment banking firm Morgan Stanley released a report on April 14 on AI job displacement, noting that the impact on the labor market has been "modest so far." Morgan Stanley argued that there has been limited evidence of widespread job losses and that, historically, new waves of technology can help expand employment over time, even as they displace some roles. It did, however, acknowledge that AI could defy this historical precedent.