Congressional Progressive Caucus: No AI Bailouts

The resolution arrives just after Anthropic's IPO prospectus forced the private AI sector's finances into the open. For the first time, the public could see that Anthropic's revenue, while up 1,300 percent to $16.3 billion in the first half of this year, came alongside an $80.7 billion loss and $518 billion to $807 billion in planned obligations over the next decade. Much of that is owed to Big Tech partners like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Broadcom, creating a web of mutual dependence that the resolution's authors compare to the housing finance system before 2008.

The Progressive Caucus resolution recounts the 2008 financial crisis and the bailout delivered to big banks, aiming to commit Congress to not repeat that mistake. It advises that any bankruptcy of an AI company or affected bank should go through current bankruptcy processes, that senior executives liable for excessive risk-taking should be held accountable under civil and criminal law, and that the government should bail out workers instead of executives through fiscal stimulus and job creation.

While nonbinding, the resolution is a political marker. Casar wants a vote early in the next Congress if Democrats take power, and he has called for the CEOs of top AI firms to testify before committees. The prospectus also listed the destruction of humanity among its risk factors, which Casar cited in questioning why the company was being allowed to go public at all.