NY Assemblymember Bores Proposes AI Dividend Program

New York State Assemblymember Alex Bores, a Democratic candidate for Congress in New York's 12th district, announced a proposal on April 20, 2026, for an AI Dividend program that would provide direct payments to Americans in the event of large-scale job displacement caused by artificial intelligence. The plan, outlined in a policy memo, aims to ensure citizens share in AI-driven economic gains while funding workforce retraining and government oversight of the technology.

Bores described the initiative as an insurance policy against potential labor disruptions, rather than a penalty on innovation. "You don't take out fire insurance because you expect your house to burn down; you have insurance in case something goes awry," he said in an interview. The program would activate based on specific economic indicators, including sustained declines in labor force participation, wage compression in AI-affected sectors, or significant productivity increases without corresponding employment growth.

Funding for the AI Dividend would come from three main sources: a modest tax on AI compute usage, measured by tokens processed; equity warrants allowing the government to acquire shares in major...