OpenAI has announced a program that will award ten grants, each valued at USD $100,000. This initiative aims to fund experiments in designing a democratic process to determine the guidelines that artificial intelligence systems should follow, all within the bounds defined by law.
The grant program was unveiled following OpenAI’s appeal for the establishment of an international regulatory body for AI, akin to the existing regulatory body governing nuclear power. This call was put forth by OpenAI’s co-founders, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever, who argued that the swift pace of AI innovation is exceeding the ability of existing authorities to adequately manage the technology.
As part of the grant initiative, OpenAI is inviting individuals, teams, and organisations to submit their proposals and design proofs-of-concept for a democratic process that could help set appropriate guardrails for AI systems.
Despite recent criticisms by OpenAI’s co-founder, Sam Altman, regarding proposed AI regulation in the European Union, OpenAI maintains that this grant program is entirely separate from its commercial interests. However, this claim has been met with skepticism by some, particularly considering Altman’s recent appearance before the U.S. Senate Congressional Committee, where he advocated for a specific type of AI regulation that would have minimal effect on OpenAI’s existing technology.
Even if there are perceptions of the program being self-serving, it introduces a unique and potentially transformative direction in AI policymaking.
The OpenAI grant program is now open for applications, with a deadline of June 24 at 9 p.m. PDT. Once the application period concludes, OpenAI will select ten successful recipients. These recipients will be required to develop a concept involving at least 500 participants, publish a public report on their findings by October 20, and open-source the code underpinning their work.