On Monday, businessman Elon Musk promised to give one share of his company SpaceX to "every child in America" next year. The statement came a day after artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced on social media that it intends to transfer 5% of its shares to a new fund created for "public benefit," UNN reports, citing AP.
In response to Anthropic’s post, published on Sunday, Musk wrote: "I recommend giving the shares directly to the public."
Shares of SpaceX, which is due to release its quarterly earnings report on Tuesday, closed at $146.03 on Friday.
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Given that about 73 million children under the age of 18 live in the United States, the value of Musk’s promise is approximately $10.66 billion.
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On Sunday, Anthropic said the shares would be transferred to the "Anthropic Public Benefit Fund" — a new structure within the company. The value of the fund may increase as the value of the shares themselves rises.
Musk provided no further details on exactly how his promise would be implemented, but added in his post: "This is just the first step of many."
Musk’s and Anthropic’s statements came amid growing concern among Americans about artificial intelligence (AI). According to a new poll conducted by the Associated Press together with the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a majority of Americans (64%) believe that AI is developing "too quickly"; 27% consider the pace of development "about right," and only 8% say it is "too slowly."
Last month, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, SpaceX’s Elon Musk and other leading industry figures said AI development should be slowed. They reached this consensus after one of Anthropic’s researchers resigned, warning of the serious threats the technology poses to humanity. However, numerous obstacles stand in the way of coordinated action to regulate the pace of AI development: domestic and global competition, the pursuit of profit, and resistance from President Donald Trump. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and five other company co-founders established Anthropic as a public-benefit corporation — a status chosen by commercial enterprises seeking to balance financial objectives with social impact.