if this doesn't become profitable in a mainstream way
This is exactly what I meant by Bernie being caught up in tech CEO bluster. He can't imagine that this shit doesn't change the world in monumental and lucrative ways. He's talked about how the tech people he's spoken to don't like his proposal because they don't want to share the profits, but I haven't seen any CEO make public comments one way or the other. With everyone involved knowing it's a bubble, I'm sure they secretly love to insure their investments with public money. They just can't say it out loud or the bubble might pop early.
And, yes, people of every age are tech illiterate. But overwhelmingly the elderly are the people crafting legislation about tech. Old age is heavily associated with cognitive decline, which makes it harder to understand, examine, and interrogate unfamiliar ideas, such as "AI" or "Whatever the Fuck Private Equity is Doing Right Now." Bernie's a smart guy, and it seems like he's still sharper than a lot of his contemporaries, but you can't fight nature. I'd rather see him cosponsor legislation with a younger senator and mentor the next generation of congress, instead of hanging on to the bitter end and giving us half-baked policy like this.