Anthropic Pledges 5% of Shares to a Public Benefit Fund
Anthropic announced today that it is creating a "public benefit fund" designed to give the company "increased flexibility and scale" to support projects for societal good.
How the Fund Is Structured
Anthropic said it will commit 5% of its shares to the fund, which is structured as a wholly-owned entity within the company. The company also has the option to contribute an additional 2% for every 50% increase in Anthropic's value.
As for how the money might actually be used, Anthropic offered some broad-strokes ideas, including "large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations."
The Job Market and AI
The fund also speaks to the potential impact of AI on the job market, which Anthropic has already committed $200 million to study. But the company said, "Given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed. The Fund will have the versatility to pursue them."
A Crisis of Trust
Anthropic's announcement comes as the AI industry faces increasingly negative public sentiment β which CEO Dario Amodei has described as "fundamentally a crisis of trust."
If you're wondering who will actually decide which public benefits are worth funding, Anthropic said it will share more information about structure and governance in the coming months.
via TechCrunch AI