Anthropic and OpenAI could reshape global philanthropy by directing hundreds of billions of dollars to it
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) could change not only the technology industry but also how money is given to help people around the world. As OpenAI and Anthropic become more valuable, new ways of giving money to good causes are taking shape around them. These could become some of the world's largest charitable organizations. Instead of giving money mainly to universities and hospitals, as donors have traditionally done, technology companies say they want to provide flexible funding, support large projects, and measure the results, Axios reports.
Anthropic plans to give 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund
Anthropic has announced plans to create a fund for the public good that will receive 5% of the company's shares. If Anthropic is worth $2 trillion when it first sells shares to the public in an initial public offering (IPO), that stake would be worth about $100 billion. If the company becomes more valuable, the fund could have even more money to use.
The fund is expected to be set up as a limited liability company owned entirely by Anthropic. This setup would let it use the money in flexible ways. It could give large amounts of money to nonprofit organizations or send money directly to specific groups of people.
This plan adds to Anthropic's other charitable efforts. The company's co-founders have already promised to donate 80% of their personal shares to charity. Anthropic has also started a program that gives three dollars for every dollar an employee donates. According to the company, about half of its employees take part.
The company also says that the shares given to the new fund will not be used for lobbying or political donations in the United States or other countries.
OpenAI already has a major charitable shareholder
Anthropic is not the only AI company whose ownership structure gives a special role to charity. OpenAI is controlled by a nonprofit foundation that owns 26% of the company's shares. Based on OpenAI's current value, Axios estimates that this stake is worth about $130 billion. The foundation also has the power to choose the company's board of directors.
These arrangements could turn technology companies into some of the world's biggest supporters of charitable causes. But the amount of money is not the only important difference. Traditionally, major donors give money to specific organizations or projects. These new funds could spread money across different areas and change their priorities when new problems appear.
This approach is common among Silicon Valley startups. They are often willing to fund ambitious ideas, move money quickly to new projects, and measure success using clear numbers and goals.
Can charity help people who lose their jobs because of AI?
Anthropic says the company itself will continue to support many areas that benefit society. These include research into AI safety and how AI systems work, the use of AI in medical and biological research and development, and discounts for nonprofit organizations and scientific institutions.
The new fund is meant to help the company do more in other areas. One possible focus mentioned by Anthropic is how the growing use of AI affects jobs and the labor market.
The company has already promised $200 million to study these effects and find ways to address them. However, Anthropic believes that bigger and more ambitious solutions may also be needed.
It is not yet clear what those solutions might be. The company has not said whether it is considering giving money directly to people whose jobs could be threatened by automation. So it is too early to say that the fund will pay workers to make up for losses caused by losing their jobs.
The philosophy of effective altruism is controversial
Anthropic's approach to charity is also shaped by the beliefs of its founders and some employees who are connected to the effective altruism movement. People in this movement try to direct money and other resources toward the causes where they believe they can do the most good.
However, some of the movement's ideas have faced strong criticism. Recently, Donald Trump's White House drew attention to views that go beyond traditional charity. These include a special focus on animal welfare and philosophical debates about how to compare the value of different human lives.
As an example, former White House staffer Taylor Budowich pointed to an old post by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. In 2010, Amodei wrote that the death of an adult might be two to three times worse than the death of an infant. Budowich used this statement to criticize the beliefs of the people who decide how Anthropic's charitable money should be spent.
This argument points to a wider concern: if major technology companies gain the power to decide on their own how to spend huge amounts of money on public needs, their philosophical and political beliefs could affect which problems get funding and which are overlooked.
Silicon Valley could set a new direction for charity
Anthropic's fund, the shares owned by OpenAI's nonprofit foundation, and possible donations from a new generation of wealthy entrepreneurs could greatly increase the amount of private money available for projects that help society.
However, the announced amounts should not be treated as money that is already available. The estimate of $100 billion for Anthropic's fund depends on the company's future value, and the exact areas where the money will be spent have not yet been decided.
The biggest change may not simply be the amount of money donated. A new generation of technology billionaires may set its own priorities for charitable giving, focusing on solutions that can reach more people, results that can be measured, and problems they consider most important. How well this approach works, and who gets to decide its priorities, will become clearer as promises turn into real programs.