Billionaires in Silicon Valley who are driving the growth of Artificial Intelligence are not just investing financially; they’re also shaping how the technology is perceived. This includes sponsoring research, creating testing labs, and influencing journalists.
A notable effort is by supporters of the Effective Altruism (EA) movement, which has rapidly elevated Anthropic from a startup launched in 2021 to a leading name in AI, currently valued at $965 billion.
Some critics argue that this intertwined funding creates an echo chamber that amplifies Anthropic and its CEO Dario Amodei’s rather gloomy perspective on AI. Still, others think this approach might be strategic.
“It seems like Dario is leveraging safety concerns to slow the industry’s pace,” remarked Nathan Zhao, a partner at a tech investment firm, in a conversation with The Post.
He noted, “In the beginning, Anthropic had a very intense cult-like atmosphere. They put safety first, sure, but it could lead to an uncritical acceptance of everything Dario proposed,” Zhao shared, having talked to several employees of the company.
Some industry professionals believe Amodei’s push for government AI regulations is more about protecting his own interests, potentially disadvantaging smaller firms.
“What exactly is Anthropic trying to accomplish? That’s unclear. Their moral posturing is frustrating – they often criticize others while claiming to stand above,” stated Richard Chang, an AI engineer who chose to remain anonymous.
“Up until recently, people had a mostly positive view of Anthropic, but now there’s a growing backlash against their various stances.”
It appears that Anthropic is positioning itself as the trustworthy entity in the industry, claiming it possesses the safest approach—a narrative that’s been bolstered since the company’s inception.
Moskovitz, known for co-founding Facebook, was involved in Anthropic’s $124 million funding round back in 2021, which was spearheaded by Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn.
Additionally, Moskovitz is on the board of Coefficient Giving, a nonprofit he established with his wife. This organization has heavily funded the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism, which employs more than 80 reporters to cover AI news across various platforms, insisting on their independence.
Moreover, another EA group, Longview Philanthropy—reportedly with $10 million in revenue—backs Model Evaluation and Threat Research (METR), a firm that conducts AI model assessments and examines existential threats. METR’s board has close connections to both Anthropic and its competitor OpenAI, led by Paul Christiano, a former roommate of Amodei, who also previously worked at OpenAI.
Lastly, Anthropic employs a thousand trained individuals, embedded within over 400 nonprofits, to promote its AI assistant, Claude, as part of the “Claude Corps.” They also recruit Claude College Ambassadors and Claude Community Ambassadors.
“Initially, they openly stated that many of these initiatives were designed to promote Effective Altruism,” shared Brian Chau, a machine learning engineer and founder of an AI news site.
However, this focus shifted after Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest in December 2022. He was a significant figure in this movement before his legal troubles struck.
Chau commented that those within the EA community previously viewed Bankman-Fried as a mentor to Amodei and took pride in their connection to him. He believes Amodei is now mirroring Bankman-Fried’s regulatory strategy, advocating for safety regulations that could benefit larger corporations like Anthropic.
“It’s not surprising he’s employing the same tactics as Bankman-Fried to establish a regulatory advantage,” Chau noted.
Bankman-Fried had led a hefty $580 million funding round for Anthropic before his empire crumbled, leading to his current prison sentence following convictions for fraud.
Chau also mentioned that after Bankman-Fried’s downfall, the description of Anthropic’s safety initiatives shifted, moving away from being branded under the Effective Altruism umbrella.
In light of these events, federal prosecutors unsold Bankman-Fried’s interest in Anthropic and other ventures to settle some debts, leaving him with no ties to tech firms.
Chau pointed out a complicated situation for those in the EA arena.
“The stronger the incentives push you to espouse certain beliefs, the less likely you’ll realize those beliefs are shaped by your positions. I think that holds true for Dario and many others in Effective Altruism,” he expressed.
This sentiment is echoed by a long-term supporter of the EA movement, rooted in charitable philosophy but recently more fixated on existential AI threats rather than traditional global health issues. “I’m uncomfortable with this shift away from helping with global poverty and health towards an intense focus on AI fears,” said the source, preferring anonymity.
