What smart people are saying about Anthropic's 5% 'public benefit' pledge

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Finn Gomez/Getty Images Anthropic's announcement that it will commit at least 5% of its shares to a "public benefit fund" is drawing a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism. Many questions about how the fund would work remain unanswered, but the company said it would create a separate corporation with the shares to make donations.Here's what people are saying. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceXAI Elon Musk says he plans to give money directly to the public. Win McNamee/Getty Images Musk, whose SpaceXAI is a competitor of Anthropic, made some news about his own plans in an X post reacting to Anthropic's statement. "I recommend giving the shares directly to the public," he wrote. "This is what I will be doing." Palmer Luckey, Anduril cofounder Palmer Luckey questions whether Anthropic should define the "public good." Ann Wang/Reuters The Anduril Industries cofounder expressed concern about what Anthropic might fund. "The problem is that their definition of 'public good' is helping everyone else, not the American public," he wrote on X. "If they would commit to helping America and Americans, that would be one thing, but this reeks of USAID 2.0, just another way to funnel billions out of our own economy." Andrew Curran, AI analyst The prominent AI analyst zeroed in on a line in Anthropic's statement in which it said it might explore "direct distributions to specific populations." Curran wrote on X. "It sounds to me like they are planning their own form of self-directed global UBI," he wrote referring to universal basic income, which some have said will be necessary if AI drastically reduces employment. "About half of Anth employees are also donating shares into this fund," Curran added. "They foresee a transformative future." Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital Brad Gerstner called Anthropic's pledge "an extraordinary gift." Bloomberg/Getty Images Gerstner praised Anthropic for what he called its "philanthropic commitments," calling it "an extraordinary gift" — but he also sounded a note of caution about "foundation wealth concentration." Like Musk, he wrote, "I hope a meaningful portion of AI's wealth is a direct dividend." Sam Hogan Heutmaker, CEO of Inference The CEO drew a comparison between Anthropic's plan to create a charity and OpenAI, which began as a nonprofit before going commercial. "This will come to be known as 'the reverse OpenAI'" he wrote on X. "start as C corp, raise lots of money > once successful, start 'independent' non profit > start concentrating value into this new entity, which you and your homies control." "It's genius," he added. Gary Marcus, professor at NYU Gary Marcus says the pledge "reeks of desperation." Bloomberg/Getty Images Marcus cast the announcement as a PR gambit. "Anthropic is playing games here," he wrote on X. "Trying to curry public favor while still holding control and resisting disclosure is annoying. And reeks of desperation." Patrick Moorhead, CEO of Moor Insights and Strategy Patrick Moorhead says the money should go directly to the public. Errich Petersen/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images Moorhead was among those raising questions about whether Anthropic would have too much control over where the funds go. "If it's dedicated entirely the 'public benefit' why don't they just give it to the public and citizens where they can directly benefit? Seems like the public would know what to do with the money better than bureaucratic institutions," he wrote on X. Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Tracy Connor is the Standards Editor at Business Insider. In her role she works with journalists on questions during the reporting process, reviews sensitive pieces, oversees editorial policies, and helps train people on standards.She is the former editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast, where she began as the executive editor, overseeing an award-winning newsroom of about 70 staffers. Previously, she was a senior reporter for the NBC News Investigations Unit, working on projects for digital and broadcast. Prior to that, she spent 10 years at the New York Daily News as an editor and reporter; she has also worked for the New York Post, United Press International, and a chain of weekly newspapers in Brooklyn.A graduate of Columbia University and the Coney Island Sideshow School, she lives in Brooklyn with her franken-dog Pearl. Don't say anything bad about Dolly Parton or em-dashes in front of her! Anthropic AI Elon Musk More