Uncle Sam considers buying a seat on the Titanic

OPINION The US government is reportedly weighing whether to take a financial stake in AI companies, which looks a bit like negotiating for a seat on the Titanic. Neither OpenAI nor Anthropic, the marquee brands in US AI, are profitable yet. While Anthropic may be nearer to that point if its accounting survives scrutiny, OpenAI's …

[Flocke Kroes]

Sounds familiar

Big government. Common ownership of the means of production. The next step is "to each according to his needs". After all, billionaires are the most needy people on the planet.

[Ian Johnston]

Re: Sounds familiar

And so horribly persecuted.

[BebopWeBop]

Re: Sounds familiar

Excellent find. My heart bleeds.

[Excused Boots]

Re: Sounds familiar

I k now, I’m setting up a GoFundMe campaign to help out these unforuntate billionaires!

[MachDiamond]

Re: Sounds familiar

"And so horribly persecuted."

Nobody HAS TO live in San Fransisco and I'd recommend against it. 1) It's in California 2) it's horribly expensive 3) you might step on/in something.

If rich buggers want to spend vast amounts of wealth and self-esteem to be there, let them.

[Dan 55]

Re: Sounds familiar

Isn't it more like the kind of corporate state that Mussolini built than communism? Trump is certainly not bothered by the average MAGA voter's needs.

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: Sounds familiar

The idea of communism considers the needs of all. The usual implementations focus on the needs of the most greedy. The masses get the other side: "from each according to their ability". Some people can work really hard. Others have an exceptional ability to take bribes.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: UNO reverse card

So we start with a corrupt kleptocracy, then a gerontocracy, then a mad dictator, then we achieve true communism ?

It's worth a try

[Tron]

Re: Sounds familiar

They may be buying backdoors, or looking ahead. AI is basically spyware that can monitor everything you do on your system and send it back to a data shed to be analysed. If you are a nation state with a passion for universal surveillance, it makes sense to buy the tech, or at least buy into the tech. It's in everything, so you can't opt out. Everyone has been pwned.

The US used to complain about China doing this. Now it is emulating China. And being the US, the US now wants to be more Chinese than China.

[HereIAmJH]

Re: Sounds familiar

The US used to complain about China doing this. Now it is emulating China.

Correction. The US still complains about China doing this, and bans some companies because there is government ownership. TikTok, Huawei, etc. Then turns around and does the same thing. (Intel)

[MachDiamond]

Re: Sounds familiar

"They may be buying backdoors, or looking ahead. AI is basically spyware that can monitor everything you do on your system and send it back to a data shed to be analysed. If you are a nation state with a passion for universal surveillance, it makes sense to buy the tech, or at least buy into the tech."

There's no need to spend money on this. The government shows up in an over-tailored suit and casually mentions that it would be a shame if this really nice AI company should have to go through a complete tax audit every year along with the whole c-suite.

[Stork]

Re: Sounds familiar

Yes, also implemented in Portugal under Estado Novo (which was not really fascist).

[Bebu sa Ware]

Re: Sounds familiar

Big government. Common ownership of the means of production. The next step is "to each according to his needs". After all, billionaires are the most needy people on the planet.

And the most greedy … Well I suppose one more then "Up goes the Donkey."

[MachDiamond]

Re: Sounds familiar

"The next step is "to each according to his needs""

What's Elon's official child count? He'd need more, of course, as the kids are accustomed to a certain standard of living at this point.

[Stevie]

Re: Sounds familiar

What happened to the outraged cries of "SOCIALISM!" that accompany discussions of pensions, healthcare or Social Security.

[alain williams]

Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

Can someone tell me when iceberg season starts.

[deadlockvictim]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

Do you really want president Vance?

[lglethal]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

Actually yes.

Vance is nowhere near as popular with the American public as Trump. Most Trump supporters don't support Vance.

And Vance has no control over the Republican party like Trump does. So most of the Congress Criters would go into self preservation mode and do the opposite of what Vance demands.

This whole shit show would end relatively quickly, rather than being the slow mo car wreck it currently is...

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

>Vance has no control over the Republican party like Trump does

I assume his billionaire will give him the files on them

[HereIAmJH]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

And Vance has no control over the Republican party like Trump does.

The Republican party doesn't fear Vance.

Even with his low approval rating (36%?), and the economic train heading for a cliff at full speed, Trump still manages to primary Republican Congressman that speak out against him. Can Vance wield that power? I'm willing to roll the dice and bet he can't.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

"And Vance has no control over the Republican party like Trump does."

The GOP got lumbered with him. Given the polling, they had no choice. It was either a Republican in the White House or an Independent. If the latter, a bad precedent would be set.

[Bebu sa Ware]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

> Do you really want president Vance?

The Titanic could accommodate the whole administration, tech billionaires and other hangers on, legislature and judiciary with room left over — really spacious if we removed the lifeboats (recommended) before embarcation.

Offer the whole boiling a gold plated, exclusive, once in a lifetime, luxury iceberg viewing cruise.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

I think both Musk and Bezos should start working on the B Ark forthwith.

[MonkeyJuice]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

I hear Blue Origin do rockets.

[BebopWeBop]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

I will settle for just half of them - on the wrong side of course. And of course as they don't 'believe' in the public good, no rescue vessels either.

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

A shared cabin should work out fine.

[MonkeyJuice]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

That is a reality show I think he'd be really good at.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

Look what happened the last time... allegedly.

J.P. Morgan...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_conspiracy_theories

[BebopWeBop]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

Good for a laugh while i was procrastinating.

[MacGuffin]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

I "asked" to get Microslop's Coprolite to generate an image of Trump on the Hindenburg. My MS account got dinged with a warning. Along with Musk's fiddling with output directives, I have no faith in the output, whether output will faithfully generated by any AI and cannot fathom a reason why I would pay to be so restricted and directed. Alas, my reluctance to pay to be restricted is defeated. I still have to pay via taxes to physically support the players I have no faith in.

[Jedit]

"Along with Musk's fiddling with output directives"

That's a strange way to describe kids, but I'll let it go.

[Fruit and Nutcase]

Re: Please give Trump...

Please [God] give Trump a ticket on the Titanic [Piles of money]

If he starts walking like Hercule Poirot, my prayers have been answered

[MachDiamond]

Re: Please give Trump a ticket on the Titanic

"Can someone tell me when iceberg season starts."

Why, thinking of trying out some GPS/RADAR spoofing?

[james 68]

ho hum

When other countries do this kinda thing the republicans in the US of A scream SOCIALISM!!! GATEWAY TO COMMUNISM!!!!BURN THE HERETIC!!! But when Trump does it it's ....fine?

[MonkeyJuice]

Re: ho hum

I thought that, but then I realised it's fine- nobody batted an eye when they bought a huge stake in Intel. They can subsidise large corporations, it's just bad when it feeds a starving single mother and her child.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: ho hum

State funding of capital = capitalism

State funding of society = socialism

[SnailFerrous]

Privatise the profits. Socialise the losses. Standard procedure since the 2007/8 banking crash. The only scceptable form of socialism. There won't be any profits from AI till at least after the crash. Possibly not even then, so the upcoming big losses need to be shunted on to the oiks ASAP.

[MachDiamond]

"There won't be any profits from AI till at least after the crash. Possibly not even then, so the upcoming big losses need to be shunted on to the oiks ASAP."

There's not much to bailout either aside from money. The assets are obsolete from the moment they get installed and the physical plants aren't useful to use for any other purpose.

[Authentic Name]

And the profitability is irrelevant to the grifters on each end who will pocket various commissions for lining up a sucker to cushion the inevitable fall.

[Derezed]

You know you’ve won capitalism when you get an enormous tax payer funded subsidy. Who needs roads anyway?

[Will Godfrey]

DOH!

Against man's investor's stupidity, the gods themselves contest in vain.

[BebopWeBop]

Re: DOH!

I suspect the gods don't care - we will destroy ourselves and they do not have shares.

[Ian Johnston]

Trump uses government funds to enrich his supporters. Again.

[ComputerSays_noAbsolutelyNo]

The ultimate cash grab

... get the government involved

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: The ultimate cash grab

If your product is useful you sell it to people. If it is a waste of time you sell it to businesses. If it is actively harmful go straight to the government.

[Doctor Syntax]

Established critical infrastructure - fine. Intel could reasonably be included in that. Speculation with taxpayers' money? Ah, well, I'm not a US taxpayer, thank goodness.

[Anonymous Coward]

>Established critical infrastructure - fine. Intel could reasonably be included in that.

If Intel is established critical infrastructure, and Intel is part owned by the US government, does that mean that nobody outside the USA can trust their chips not to spy on them?

[that one in the corner]

> does that mean that nobody outside the USA can trust their chips not to spy on them?

You might want to read up on the fears surrounding the

Intel's Management Engine (2017 article, what is it doing in 2026?*)

* to be fair to the article, that one is a description of the IME, and about what it technically could do, not simply a paranoid rant against the IME. Plenty of those are but a web search away.

[Kurgan]

It has always been like this. (cue astronauts meme)

[Doctor Syntax]

"does that mean that nobody outside the USA can trust their chips not to spy on them?"

Outside?

[Pascal Monett]

"the feds have invested $20.9 billion"

Funny how Republicans scream about government intervention when it's about healthcare, but when it's about handing out money to people who are already insanely rich, then it's not a problem.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: "the feds have invested $20.9 billion"

But the poors will just gamble it away on scratch cards.

While businesses will invest it in credit default swaps and derivatives

[vtcodger]

Socialism?

The government investing in businesses isn't socialism? Heavens no. It's sound business judgement (and this from a dude who managed to bankrupt a bunch of casinos and apparently learned nothing from that) -- nothing more.

[Flocke Kroes]

he did learn from bankrupting casinos

He learned who to call to make the consequences of his failures land on other people.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: he did learn from bankrupting casinos

Specifically he loaded the casinos with debt, had them pay a fortune to his other companies for the use of his name, transferred the casinos and all the liabilities to another company and had that go bust.

This was back in the days when he was only a crook - before the dementia and Twitter kicked in

[Excused Boots]

Re: Socialism?

Sorry but how in the name of all that is holy do you bankrupt a casino? The design of the whole thing is that the house (overall) always wins. I can see only two options, incompetence on a massive scale, or a deliberate tax scheme. And I'm not too sure if the person in question is competent enough to pull off the latter!

Oh no sorry, just read the other posts in this topic (note to self, read all the posts before commenting). So it does seem to have been an elaborate tax avoidance scheme. Although I’ll maintain that the person in question wasn’t;t competent enough to arrange this, so others did - wonder if they ever got paid?

[that one in the corner]

To avoid any risk from charges of "Socialism"

The Government stakeholdings will be placed into a separate management group, a brand-new idea that nobody in politics has ever thought of until The President had a bigly thought, one of the best thoughts ever.

This body, the Trumped Right Up Management Provider*, will be an organisation that is almost self-governing, or "quasi-autonomous" if you like, but non-governmental (journalists are hoping to think of a pithy word they could use to describe this new idea).

Board members of T.R.U.M.P. are yet to be announced; so far, we only know it will have a CEO For Life, affectionately referred to as "The Don" although, in an effort to appeal to software people, a partial title borrowed from Python, Linux etc appears in the documentation: "Dictator For Life".

* A wholly-owned subsidiary of Horn Holdings**

** A member of Diamonds High Trading***

*** An office of the Don Who Dat Never Heard The Name Group of companies****

**** Incorporated into Overly Long Gag Conglomerated*****

***** you get the idea, it is Donny boy at the bottom of all this

[Anonymous Coward]

Subsidies by any other name is still a subsidy.

Bend over once again taxpayer, Elon and buddies are all in line.

[Anonymous Coward]

Trump on the Titanic

Trump laying naked on a chaise lounge:

“Draw me like one of your French girls”

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Trump on the Titanic

10 cc of mind bleach, stat!

[james 68]

Re: Trump on the Titanic

I hope those cc's are "copious carafes" or "colossal capacity" because 10 cubic centimeters ain't gonna cut it.

[Excused Boots]

Re: Trump on the Titanic

A ‘French girl”, a foreigner, Shirley not.

[[e-mail]]

Sounds like I can hear a bubble bursting

The #1 reason that this idea is being floated is it makes AI companies too big to fail. After that, all Americans are investors that can lose money, not just the FOMO fools.

[that one in the corner]

Re: Sounds like I can hear a bubble bursting

> too big to fail

Too big to sink (completely): it will leave just the poop deck as a tiny island, poking out of the waves. Only enough space available for the most important* to survive.

Will it drag down the bankrupted Ship Of State to the same ignoble end?

* richest, governmentest

[Dan 55]

Go for it

Can't wait to see this. If anyone is capable for bankrupting the US, it's Trump.

[IGotOut]

If the adminstration is involved in bailouts..

...just follow the money back to the Trump family.

If they haven't slipped right down the corruption ratings by the end of this year, I'd be very surprised. It went down one last year, I expect at least a 10 point drop this year.

This was written in January and it's only gotten worse since then.

https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/corruption-united-states-global-leader-trump-first-year

[ecofeco]

Other forums have called this out

It flat out indicates that the tech douche bros know it's going to fail and are per-arranging their bailout.

The race is to IPO and cash out before the crash.

Not even joking.

[Lowres]

too big to fail

If you get government to invest then will certainly be too big to fail :(

[Someone Else]

With OpenAI and Anthropic preparing to go public, the White House would do better to wait before placing its bet.

Name once where this White House has "done better" with anything it's laid its grubby hands on.

_{I'll hang up and listen for my answer...}

[DS999]

Buying at what will undoubtedly be near the peak for some AI companies

Would be foolish to the extreme. Just another excuse to hand bags of taxpayer cash to Musk - SpaceX's IPO is the most overvalued as most of its price is speculative value for the badly flailing xAI division it merged with. But all three may be a terrible investment in retrospect by the end of Trump's term, but he wouldn't bear any of that cost and it would just be added to the $10 trillion and counting he's already added to the national debt during his 5 1/2 years in office. By FAR the worst record of any president in history...but hardly surprising for someone who is such a terrible businessmen he bankrupted five casinos.

What I want to know is where is the money coming from? Congress didn't pass a bill allowing him to invest in Intel and other companies. I know the republicans have totally abdicated their role as a "separate but equal" and "checks and balances" part of government, but the money used to buy in isn't just there. He's gotta be taking it from some other line item budget.

[Excused Boots]

Re: Buying at what will undoubtedly be near the peak for some AI companies

Personally I would rewords that statement, don't say taxpayer, say ‘the vast majority of US citizens’, you pay a proportion of your income, and (in some States) a proportion of the amount you pay in shops, as a tax.And yes, I understand that you probably want a military, a police force, rubbish (garbage) collection etc.

Are you happy for some of it, which you pay for, to be handed out to the richest people on the planet?

[steviebuk]

You mean

Orange man wants to enrich himself even more.

[AlfMSX]

The Fart of the Deal