OpenAI has announced a new initiative focused on preparing for the economic impact of artificial intelligence. The company says AI is going to create ‘huge economic changes’ and wants to help prepare for what comes next. The OpenAI Foundation is committing an initial $250 million to support research, partnerships and projects related to AI’s economic impact. The money will be used for grants, pilot programs and direct work aimed at creating what OpenAI calls ‘secure and abundant economic futures.’
‘We still don’t have good ways to answer fundamental questions about how AI is changing and will change the economy, the company said in a blogpost. ‘The systems society relies on to measure and interpret economic change were built for a different era. Our goal is to help build what comes next.’
Also read: Your iPhone may soon detect if it has been snatched and lock itself automatically
According to OpenAI, one of the biggest challenges is understanding who benefits most from AI. The company wants to study whether AI-generated value will mainly help workers through better wages, businesses through higher profits, or consumers through lower prices and improved services.
OpenAI plans to focus on three main areas. The first is understanding AI’s economic effects through better research and data systems. The second is supporting workers and communities during economic changes caused by AI. The third is exploring new ideas for long-term economic security.
‘Every country will experience the AI transition differently. Beyond directly measuring AI’s impacts on local economies, we will also fund economic evaluations to understand how AI can help people in different contexts,’ the company said. In the blogpost, OpenAI also mentioned it will announce its first projects later this year.
Also read: Paid for UK visa online? Your passport and selfie may have been exposed in alleged data leak
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also spoke about the initiative on X. He wrote, ‘AI should dramatically increase quality of life and individual freedoms for people around the world.’ ‘The OpenAI Foundation is making an initial $250M commitment to measurement, transition support, and new approaches to broadly shared prosperity.’