The non-profit will fund research into AI's labor market effects, near-term worker support, and new models for distributing economic gains
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An initial $250 million is being pledged by the OpenAI Foundation across grants, partnerships, and hands-on programs, with the goal of cushioning workers and economies against the upheaval that AI technology is bringing, according to an announcement from the organization.
Three priorities will guide the spending: studying how AI is transforming labor markets, assisting workers and communities confronting imminent job losses, and identifying new mechanisms for spreading AI-generated wealth more equitably, the foundation said. Specific programs are expected to be unveiled before the end of the year, the foundation said.
The foundation plans to help create better systems for measuring labor markets around the world. These systems would track jobs, wages, and company behavior, similar to what the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does. The foundation also wants to fund studies in low- and middle-income countries, where AI could help people access more resources and public services.
For worker support, the foundation is interested in funding better access to unemployment insurance, wage loss insurance, and new job opportunities in growing industries. It pointed out that traditional retraining programs have had mixed results, so a wider approach may be needed. The foundation also wants workers to have more say in how AI is used at their jobs.
For longer-term economic security, the foundation said it wants to move promising policy ideas into testable designs, including shifting taxation from labor toward capital, windfall mechanisms, and public or sovereign wealth funds. It cited Norway's Government Pension Fund and Alaska's Permanent Fund as relevant models. Simulations that use AI to project economic trajectories as the technology advances are among the types of work the foundation wants to support.
"The current pace of change means the window to get this right is shorter than we're used to, and the cost of getting it wrong is profound," the foundation said in a statement.
Unlike a conventional grantmaking body, the foundation said it is assembling staff to manage certain initiatives in-house, meaning it will have a direct operational role alongside its work funding outside organizations. Grants will go to non-profits as well as a wider range of organizations, according to Reuters.
Last year's corporate restructuring left the foundation holding a 26% ownership stake in OpenAI's commercial arm, according to Reuters. OpenAI separately pledged in March to channel a minimum of $1 billion through the foundation over the following twelve months toward AI-related efforts spanning life sciences and local community initiatives, according to Reuters.
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