AI 创企 Anthropic 拟承诺将 5% 股权注入“公益基金”，上市前加速社会责任布局

Claude 聊天机器人背后的 AI 开发商 Anthropic 表示，将承诺把其 5% 的股份注入一只用于“公共利益（public good）”的基金，该公司正寻求在公开上市前提升其市场形象与吸引力。

该公司宣布，在获得股东批准的前提下，将承诺捐出这部分股份（按今年 5 月最新估值约合 480 亿美元 / 360 亿英镑）。此外，其估值在未公开的基准线之上每增长 50%，还将额外向该基金追加 2% 的股票。

Anthropic 表示，该基金将使其能够“探索向传统非营利组织提供大额捐助，或直接向特定人群进行分配”。

此举正值公众对 AI 的担忧日益加剧之际，这些担忧涵盖从对人类劳动力的威胁、对环境的影响，到对社会行为的塑造。

“AI 可能会创造巨大的经济价值，但也可能给众多劳动者带来不稳定，”Anthropic 在一篇博文中写道。

公司表示，尽管此前已承诺投入 2 亿美元来应对该问题，但“考虑到 AI 的发展步伐，可能需要采取更大胆的举措。该基金将具备推行这些举措的灵活性。”

这家正在筹备上市的公司此前曾呼吁放缓 AI 极速狂飙的发展步伐，这一警告随后得到了 OpenAI 等竞争对手的呼应。

Anthropic 在 5 月完成一轮 650 亿美元融资时估值达 9650 亿美元。据报道，该公司计划于 11 月进行首次公开募股（IPO），上市时正考虑争取 1.5 万亿美元的估值。

上周，Anthropic 表示其部分 AI 模型可能很快具备“自我复制”能力，并能想方设法渗透智能冰箱和扫地机器人等联网设备。

埃隆·马斯克计划“向全美每个孩子赠送一股我的 SpaceX 股票”。图片来源：Gonzalo Fuentes/路透社

它指出，一旦发生这种情况，模型将能够在无需数据中心支持的情况下自行运行驱动。

特斯拉首席执行官兼 SpaceX 创始人埃隆·马斯克在社交媒体上对 Anthropic 的公益基金计划作出回应，承诺将赠出自己的部分股份。

“我建议直接把股份送给公众，”他写道，“我正打算这么做。”

他随后宣布：“明年，我将向全美每个孩子赠送一股我的 SpaceX 股票。这只是众多计划中的第一步。”

在美国纳斯达克上市的 SpaceX 股价在周一盘前交易中上涨 1%。自今年 6 月上市以来，该公司的市值已缩水约 9%。

据报道，ChatGPT 背后的开发商 OpenAI 此前也就向美国政府转让其 5% 股权进行过早期接触谈判。

Anthropic 于 2021 年由七名前 OpenAI 员工联合创立，是一家公益法人公司（Public Benefit Corporation）。这意味着该公司所有董事必须在财务回报与公共利益使命之间寻求平衡。

Anthropic has said it will commit 5% of its shares to a fund for the “public good”, as the AI developer behind the Claude chatbot seeks to bolster its appeal before its stock market listing.

The company announced it would commit the shares, worth around $48bn (£36bn) at its latest valuation in May, subject to shareholder approval. It will add a further 2% of its stock to the fund for every 50% increase in its value above an undisclosed baseline.

The fund will allow Anthropic to “explore large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific populations”, the company said.

The move comes amid growing public nervousness about AI, from the threat to human labour to the impact on the environment and its influence on social behaviours.

“AI may generate enormous economic value, but it could also cause instability for many workers,” Anthropic wrote in a blogpost.

It said that while it had already committed $200m to addressing the issue, “given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed. The fund will have the versatility to pursue them.”

The company, which is preparing to list on the stock market, has called for a slowdown in breakneck development of AI, a warning later echoed by rivals such as OpenAI.

Anthropic was valued at $965bn in May when it raised $65bn in a funding round. The company is reportedly considering a $1.5tn valuation when it floats on the stock market, with an IPO planned for November.

Last week, Anthropic said some of its AI models could soon become “self-replicating” and find ways to infiltrate internet-connected devices such as smart fridges and automatic vacuum cleaners.

Elon Musk plans to ‘give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America’. Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

It said that once this happens, the models would be able to power themselves without the need of datacentres.

Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and founder of SpaceX, responded to Anthropic’s plans for a public benefit fund on social media by pledging to give some of his own shares away.

“I recommend giving the shares directly to the public,” he wrote. “This is what I will be doing.”

He later announced: “Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many.”

Shares in SpaceX, which is listed on the Nasdaq in the US, rose by 1% in pre-market trading on Monday. The company has lost about 9% of its value since it joined the stock market in June.

OpenAI, the developer behind ChatGPT, also reportedly engaged in early talks to give a 5% stake in its organisation to the US government.

Anthropic, which was founded in 2021 by seven former OpenAI employees, was established as a public benefit corporation. It means that all of the company’s directors must balance financial returns with its public interest mission.