As artificial intelligence continues to transform industries, new policy ideas are emerging to balance productivity gains with social and economic stability.
OpenAI has outlined a major rethink of how economies distribute wealth and work in the age of AI, including proposals such as a 4-day workweek and a public wealth fund to ensure citizens benefit from AI-driven growth.
In its policy document titled Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age: Idea to Keep People First, the company warned that AI could significantly reshape labour markets and concentrate wealth if governments do not act early with new frameworks.
The shift is already visible as AI systems move from handling tasks that take minutes to completing work that once required months, changing how organisations function and how people earn.
A key proposal is the move toward shorter workweeks. OpenAI suggested that policymakers and companies should “run time-bound 32-hour/four-day workweek pilots with no loss in pay that hold output and service levels constant”. It added that such productivity gains could lead to permanent reductions in working hours. The company described this as part of an “efficiency dividend,” where automation benefits are returned to workers through both income and time.
On taxation, the company highlighted the need to shift focus as AI changes the structure of economic activity. “As AI reshapes work and production, the composition of economic activity may shift—expanding corporate profits and capital gains while potentially reducing reliance on labour income,” the document noted. It proposed new tax mechanisms linked to automated labour and AI-driven returns, along with greater reliance on capital-based taxes such as corporate income and capital gains. This reflects growing support for a “robot tax” model.
Another major recommendation is the creation of a public wealth fund. This fund would invest in AI companies and the broader ecosystem, with returns distributed directly to citizens. The aim is to ensure that “people directly share in the upside of that growth, regardless of their starting wealth or access to capital.”
The document also warned that without intervention, AI could increase inequality. It stated that “AI could widen inequality by compounding advantages for those already positioned to capture the upside”, while others may miss out on new opportunities. It also pointed to the risk of gains concentrating among a few companies.
OpenAI described these proposals as part of a larger reset in industrial policy for the “intelligence age,” stating, “We are entering a new phase of economic and social organization that will fundamentally reshape work, knowledge, and production.”
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