Anthropic Pledges $200 Million for AI Economic Impact Research

Anthropic announced Wednesday an initial $200 million investment to study how artificial intelligence affects jobs and the broader economy. The company said the funds will support its new Economic Futures Research Fund, which will finance research trials and program evaluations of public policies it considers promising.

CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei published an essay outlining steps the government could take at different levels of economic disruption. He recommended improved data collection on AI-related job losses, incentives to slow displacement, and mechanisms such as universal basic income if labor demand falls permanently.

Amodei wrote that such support could be financed through taxes on relevant companies or by raising the capital gains tax. The company also announced a separate $150 million national fellowship program to help early-career professionals extend AI benefits to communities across the country.

The announcement follows OpenAI's Monday statement that it aims to ensure gains from the technology are widely shared. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently met with Sen. Bernie Sanders to discuss creating a public wealth fund using AI company stock. Anthropic and OpenAI have each said they are moving toward initial public offerings, following SpaceX.

Amodei proposed that AI regulations should match the rigor of Federal Aviation Administration standards, requiring technical testing and auditing before models are released. He said existing rules for aircraft, automobiles, and drugs could serve as models. The company added that the government should be able to block or deter rollout of models that pose a significant risk of catastrophic harms.