Back
$10 Million to Advance AI By and For People
webCredibility Rating
4/5
High(4)High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.
Rating inherited from publication venue: MacArthur Foundation
Philanthropic funding announcement relevant to the AI governance ecosystem; illustrates how major foundations are directing resources toward ensuring AI development accountability and public benefit alongside technical safety efforts.
Metadata
Importance: 42/100press releasenews
Summary
The MacArthur Foundation announced a $10 million funding initiative to support AI development that centers public benefit, equity, and democratic accountability. The grants aim to foster AI governance frameworks and civil society engagement to ensure AI technologies serve broad human interests rather than narrow commercial ones.
Key Points
- •MacArthur Foundation commits $10 million to support AI development aligned with public benefit and democratic values
- •Funding targets organizations working on AI governance, accountability, and equitable access
- •Initiative emphasizes civil society participation in shaping AI policy and deployment norms
- •Reflects growing philanthropic interest in counterbalancing corporate-driven AI development
- •Supports research and advocacy to ensure AI technologies are developed 'by and for people'
1 FactBase fact citing this source
| Entity | Property | Value | As Of |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Now Institute | Grant Received | $2 million | Feb 2026 |
Cached Content Preview
HTTP 200Fetched Apr 6, 20265 KB
$10 Million to Advance AI By and For People - MacArthur Foundation
-->
m_auth=WIdLN_TpIEfx1XUl9lWkdQ>m_preview=env-34>m_cookies_win=x" height="0" width="0" style="display: none; visibility: hidden">
Account Login
Login into your grantee account, reset your password, or submit an idea to the MacArthur Foundation.
Login or Submit Idea
$10 Million to Advance AI By and For People
February 12, 2026
Press Releases
AI Opportunity
MacArthur announced aligned grantmaking to support Humanity AI , a national initiative to build a more human(e) future in which artificial intelligence (AI) is shaped by and for people.
MacArthur today announced $10 million in aligned grantmaking in support of Humanity AI , a national initiative to build a more human(e) future in which artificial intelligence (AI) is shaped by and for people.
Humanity AI was launched by a coalition of funders supporting the arts, labor and work, democracy, education, and security that will drive more than $500 million in new investments over the next five years.
“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,” said MacArthur Foundation President John Palfrey. “It is essential that philanthropy resource organizations to help shape AI governance, inform public thinking, and innovate how these digital technologies are built and used.”
Focus Areas
The initial grants are aligned with one or more of Humanity AI’s areas of focus:
Democracy: Creating new partnerships and frameworks for AI to advance our democracy and safeguard our freedoms.
Education: Shaping AI in education around the best interests of students and communities to expand access to knowledge and strengthen how people learn.
Humanities and Culture: Enhancing human creativity and protecting the work of artists and creators.
Labor and Economy: Ensuring AI is used to enhance – rather than replace – how people work to create an economy that enables all of us to thrive.
Security: Holding people and institutions building and deploying AI to the highest standards to keep people safe and secure.
In addition to these issue areas, Humanity AI will advance knowledge and build infrastructure to enable AI in the public interest. The initiative is also designed to shape public conversations about AI that center people and the planet, instead of technology, ensuring the public and policymakers understand that Silicon Valley’s vision for AI is not inevitable.
Representative Aligned Grants
The initial portfolio of grants spans univ
... (truncated, 5 KB total)Resource ID:
kb-ea2affe62f3e8ad0