Slowly but surely, the leading AI companies are creating a national self-governing structure to oversee their technology and its societal impact.

With the federal government largely hands-off, Anthropic, OpenAI and others are self-regulating their technology and now setting up their own plans to redistribute their wealth.

Why it matters: Not since the age of the robber barons have America's industrial titans wielded such sweeping power to shape society — and decide how their private fortunes should serve the public good.

In the modern era, Washington has largely exercised those powers through regulation, taxation and public spending.

The big picture: President Trump has no interest in new regulations. Instead, he has blessed a basic framework for the AI companies to regulate themselves — and potentially each other — outside of formal government monitoring.

Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Elon Musk's XSI, Meta and Nvidia are working on different versions of this.…