Bold claim: $10 million in grants now to steer AI for people, not just profit. MacArthur Foundation has announced aligned grantmaking to support Humanity AI, a nationwide effort to shape a future where artificial intelligence is designed by and for people.
In practical terms, Humanity AI was launched by a coalition of funders focused on the arts, labor and work, democracy, education, and security. Over the next five years, this initiative will drive more than $500 million in new investments aimed at building a more human-centered future for AI.
John Palfrey, president of the MacArthur Foundation, puts it plainly: “We, as humans, stand at the cusp of AI’s broader societal integration. We are AI’s designers, users, investors, and inventors, and we can also be its governors. We have a unique opportunity to design systems with robust ethical frameworks and guardrails.” He emphasizes that philanthropy should fund organizations that help shape AI governance, inform public thinking, and innovate how these technologies are built and used.
Focus areas
The initial grants align with one or more of Humanity AI’s priority domains:
- Democracy: developing new partnerships and frameworks for AI to strengthen democracy and protect freedoms.
- Education: guiding AI in educational contexts to serve students and communities, expanding access to knowledge and improving learning.
- Humanities and Culture: boosting human creativity while safeguarding the work of artists and creators.
- Labor and Economy: ensuring AI enhances work rather than replaces it, supporting an economy in which everyone can thrive.
- Security: holding AI builders and deployers to high standards to keep people safe.
Beyond these focus areas, Humanity AI aims to advance knowledge and build infrastructure that enables AI to serve the public interest. The initiative also seeks to shape public dialogue about AI so that conversations center people and the planet, not just technology. The message is that Silicon Valley’s AI vision is not an inevitability.
Representative aligned grants
The inaugural grant portfolio spans universities, research institutions, and think tanks, including:
- AI Now Institute: $2 million to scale national-security and AI work.
- Brookings Institution’s AI and Emerging Technologies Initiative: $2 million to help policymakers understand AI’s societal impacts and craft policies that maximize benefits while reducing risks.
- Data & Society Research Institute: $500,000 to deepen work on civic engagement and public conversations about AI.
- Human Rights Data Analysis Group (a project of Community Partners): $500,000 to develop new AI infrastructure for civil society.
- London School of Economics and Political Science: $2 million to support a flagship global forum on AI and social science.
- New America: $1 million to launch The Shangri La Series—A Global Dialogue on Shared AI Challenges—and related work on AI and geopolitics.
- Pulitzer Center: $1 million to scale its AI Accountability Network, an interdisciplinary effort that supports journalists examining AI’s impacts.
- Washington Center for Equitable Growth: $1 million to convene stakeholders and advance policy-relevant research measuring AI’s effects on the economy and workforce.
But here’s where it gets controversial: should philanthropy actively steer AI governance, or should it stay strictly within the boundaries of mission-aligned funding? Proponents argue that independent, well-funded civil-society and research work can counterbalance profit-driven development. Critics worry about shifting power toward funders and potentially shaping research agendas. And this is the part most people miss: real progress may require a mosaic of voices—from government, academia, industry, workers, and everyday users—without surrendering public accountability to any single coalition.
What this means for readers
If you’re an educator, journalist, researcher, artist, or policymaker, these grants signal growing attention to aligning AI development with societal well-being. They offer resources to explore how AI can support democracy, learning, culture, and fair labor markets while maintaining strong safeguards. As AI becomes more integrated into daily life, understanding who governs it—and how—becomes crucial for everyone.
What do you think? Do these philanthropy-backed efforts move us toward a more humane AI future, or do they risk entangling public policy with private influence? Share your take in the comments.
