Scoop: Philanthropists offer $30M for more inclusive AI
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Omidyar Network announced a $30 million investment to prioritize immediate AI risks over existential AI risks and to bridge the gap between AI hype and AI hysteria.
Why it matters: Philanthropists are stepping in to help shift the terms of the AI debate and the Omidyar dollars are intended to broaden who participates in AI discussions.
- The American public has repeatedly told pollsters they are distrustful of tech giants and concerned about how AI will affect them.
- But Congress has yet to provide substantial funding, guardrails or a safety net for workers affected by generative AI.
- An Omidyar Network spokesperson told Axios that its mission is driven by concerns about highly concentrated AI markets and Congress being stuck in learning mode about generative AI.
What's happening: Vice President Kamala Harris last month announced that ten leading foundations would commit more than $200 million towards public interest AI development.
- The Omidyar Network's cash is the first out the door, and follows Mozilla Foundation publishing its AI funding principles.
- Mike Kubzansky, CEO of Omidyar Network, told Axios that the funding will foster a "more collective, cross-sector approach to generative AI."
Details: Omidyar Network commissioned focus groups, run by FGS Global in the fall, to help determine what projects it should prioritize.
- The feedback: immediate harms such as "racial bias, deepfakes and protecting IP" should take priority over existential risk.
Initial partners and projects include AFL-CIO Technology Institute, which will receive funding to bring more stories about worker experiences of AI to Congress and statehouses.
- Humane Intelligence, led by Rumman Chowdhury and Jutta Williams, will be funded to "scale its AI auditing and evaluation work" which includes red-teaming exercises and global perspectives.
- The Collective Intelligence Project will be paid to host a series of "AI Alignment Assemblies" — a type of democratic forum designed to surface the views of the whole population on AI.
- The Economic Security Project and Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator will develop models and proposals for AI governance that include public options for generative AI.
The big picture: AI developers are divided, but seem to be shifting in favor of speeding up rather than slowing down AI development, illustrated by the recent board shake-up at ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
- The recent chaos has calmed, while also signaling a long-term shift at the organization away from its original non-profit basis.
What they're saying: An Omidyar Network representative told Axios that the funding will develop "generative AI infrastructure" which elevates diverse voices in AI development and governance, while promoting innovation and competition.
- Amanda Ballantyne, director of the AFL-CIO Technology Institute, told Axios that AI can make everyone better off, but only if AI designers work with end users. In AFL-CIO's case that means workers who use enterprise AI.
- "Workers can tell you pretty quickly what systems will work well, what makes their job safer and easier and more efficient, and what products will require workarounds," Ballantyne said.
