Commentators are warning that AI companies may be set up for a government bailout, paid for by ordinary taxpayers while dressed up as help for "Main Street."

• Officials and media figures are already framing AI firms as "too big to fail," using national security as the justification.
• Critics argue the real beneficiaries would be the banks, creditors, and private equity firms that financed the AI boom, not everyday Americans.
• Giving the public small amounts of stock in these companies is seen as a PR move to make a future bailout look patriotic rather than a rescue of billionaires.
• The push for a bailout narrative now is being read as a sign insiders already expect an AI-related financial crash.
• Some commentators are calling for criminal prosecution of politicians and media figures who help cover for Wall Street if a bailout happens.

Outlook: Expect more talk of AI as a "too big to fail" national security issue in the coming months, with public anger building over who a bailout would really serve.