The OpenAI Foundation split off from OpenAI last year, and is now the biggest private foundation in the world. One of the Foundation’s focus areas is AI Resilience, led by OpenAI co-founder Wojciech Zaremba. Wojciech draws an analogy between AI and another general purpose technology: Fire.
Like fire, AI has many benefits but can also be dangerous. Over time, societies built resilience via many different layers, including fire-resistant materials, hydrant networks, professional fire departments, and building codes. We need a similar resilience ecosystem for AI, and Wojciech is funding it with OpenAI’s sky high share price. The foundation owns 26% of OpenAI stock, which makes them the biggest private foundation in the world, ahead of Novo Nordisk, Gates and Wellcome. They and sold an undisclosed sum in OpenAI’s fundraising round earlier this year to fund their first investments.
In March and April, I got the opportunity to work with Wojciech to help shape their funding strategy for AI’s impact on young people. The initial focus is to fund independent research to better understand where AI can support development, the risks it may introduce, and the contexts that shape those effects. AI has the potential to positively or negatively impact human connection, learning, and development – and without good measurement we won’t be able to steer it responsibly.I’m excited for the first funding announcements, hopefully they will be public soon!
Here’s an excerpt from OpenAI Foundation’s official announcement today that describes the work:
AI’s impact on young people
Young people are often the earliest adopters of new technologies, using them to learn, create, communicate, and explore the world. AI is no exception. But as these tools become an increasing part of young people’s daily lives, it is critical that we develop a stronger evidence base to understand its impacts.
Families, schools, policymakers, and community organizations are all grappling with questions about how and when young people engage with AI—including its impact on human connection, learning, and development. Our initial focus will be on advancing independent research to help guide those decisions—to better understand where AI can support development, the risks it may introduce, and the contexts that shape those effects.
These insights should drive broad safety standards and design principles that guide how any AI product is developed, how schools choose to deploy them, and if and how families decide to incorporate these technologies into their lives.