So here's a question for you: when Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos pour billions into artificial intelligence, who do you think they're really trying to help?
According to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the answer is pretty simple: themselves. In a recent social media post and interview, Sanders took direct aim at the tech titans, arguing that their AI investments are less about societal progress and more about consolidating wealth and influence.
"Do you think Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are investing in AI to help the working class of this country?" Sanders wrote on X, sharing a clip of his interview. "No, they're in it to accumulate even more wealth and power for themselves."
He added the punchline: "We've got to make AI work for working people, not just for billionaires."
It's a classic Sanders argument, applied to the hottest sector in tech. During the interview, he framed AI and robotics as tools being "pushed" by the same powerful executives who already dominate the industry. His concern isn't with the technology itself, but with who controls it and who benefits.
"Do you think that these guys are staying up nights worrying about the working class about the jobs that are going to disappear?" he asked rhetorically. He acknowledged that automation "can work," but insisted it "has got to work for human beings, for ordinary people, for the working people, not just for billionaires."
It's a political critique that lands as major tech companies are already maneuvering to shape the regulatory landscape around AI. According to reports, Meta Platforms Inc. (META) planned to invest $65 million in 2026 to back state lawmakers supportive of the AI industry. The effort involved launching two super PACs to influence policy, reportedly marking the company's greatest election-related spending push. The spending targeted key states like Texas and Illinois, alongside prior political contributions from the company, amid concerns that potential regulations could limit AI development.
Meanwhile, the tech billionaires aren't just facing political heat. They're also dealing with regulatory scrutiny. Separately, Ireland's privacy regulator opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, over allegations that it mishandled personal data and generated manipulated sexualized images. The probe is examining compliance with EU data rules after reports surfaced of AI-altered content, prompting further scrutiny from European authorities and Britain's watchdog.
So you've got Sanders on one side, arguing that the AI gold rush is really about power. And you've got the tech giants on the other, investing heavily in both the technology and the political process that will govern it. It's a fight over who gets to write the rules for the next technological revolution—and who gets to benefit from it.
