Anthropic Announces $200 Million Fund to Research AI Impact on Jobs and Economy
The company launched an Economic Futures Research Fund and a $150 million fellowship program. It also called for government mechanisms to address potential large-scale job displacement.
asiaone.comAnthropic announced an initial $200 million investment on Wednesday to research AI's impact on jobs and the economy. The funds will support an Economic Futures Research Fund for research trials and program evaluation of public policies. Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei published an essay the same day outlining his view that the government should promise economic support for people financially affected by AI.
He wrote that AI could produce much larger and longer-lasting labor market disruptions than previous technological changes. "The key challenge in such a world won't be incentivizing growth, but finding a way for everyone to share in the benefits," Amodei wrote.
He proposed better data collection to track AI job displacement, pro-employment policy incentives, and mechanisms such as universal basic income if displacement permanently reduces labor demand.
Amodei wrote that universal basic income could be financed through taxes on relevant companies or by raising the capital gains tax. Anthropic stated that the government could respond when the national unemployment rate reaches 5 percent, 10 percent, or an unspecified unprecedented level.
In the unprecedented scenario, the company wrote that more permanent support will be necessary and listed basic income, sovereign wealth models, and equity-sharing mechanisms as options.
Anthropic stated that the government should be able to block or deter the rollout of AI models that pose a significant risk of catastrophic harms. Amodei wrote that AI regulations should match the rigor of Federal Aviation Administration regulations, requiring models to undergo technical testing and auditing like airplanes.
Anthropic is also establishing a $150 million national fellowship program to help early-career professionals extend the benefits of AI to communities across America.
The announcement follows OpenAI's Monday outline of goals that included ensuring gains from the technology are widely shared. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently met with Sen. Bernie Sanders to discuss a plan for the public to take an ownership stake in artificial intelligence companies using their stock to create a public wealth fund.
