Anthropic says it will commit 5% of its shares to 'public benefit fund'

Artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic has pledged to allocate 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund that will make charitable donations. This announcement comes as Anthropic prepares for a potentially record-breaking stock market listing, which could value the company at over $1tn. The AI sector has been facing increasing scrutiny recently due to safety concerns and fears about its societal and economic impacts.

In its IPO filing, Anthropic acknowledged that AI could pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity. The company's proposed fund would support non-profit organizations and initiatives aimed at mitigating AI's impact on the job market. The shares in the fund would not be used for lobbying or political donations in the United States or internationally.

Anthropic could potentially increase its share allocation to the fund by an additional 2% at its discretion. Responding to the announcement on social media, technology billionaire Elon Musk called for the shares to be given directly to the public instead. Last week, Anthropic reported that its revenue had surged by 45% to $16.8bn in the three months to the end of September.

Like other AI firms, it is striving to generate substantial profits despite investing heavily in the technology and infrastructure required to power its models. Many companies worldwide, primarily technology firms, have laid off thousands of employees following their investments in AI, often citing higher efficiencies resulting from its adoption.

A 2024 research paper by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggested that nearly 40% of jobs globally could be affected by AI, with that figure potentially rising to 60% in advanced economies.