Open Philanthropy gave a gift of $5.5 million to RAND Corporation, to be spent at RAND President Jason Matheny’s discretion. Matheny has designated this funding to launch two new initiatives: a technology policy training program, and a research fund to help produce information that policymakers need to make wise decisions about emerging technology and security priorities.
Open Philanthropy has been impressed with Matheny’s past work on technology and security — at IARPA, at the Center for Security and Technology, and in the White House — and the team believes RAND is well-positioned to use such funding to great impact. This gift was recommended by Luke Muehlhauser, who leads Open Philanthropy’s grantmaking on AI governance.
This falls within Open Philanthropy’s work on potential risks from advanced artificial intelligence.