At the end of last year, Bell, Blackwell and Aguilar decided to dust off the old game book. They ordered a legal note which reiterated the power of the Attorney General on the irrevocable status of charity funds and called their contacts to form a coalition of what is now more than 50 community organizations working together to try to influence the future of one of the hottest technological companies world.
Blackwell says that some members of the group fear that OpenAi's plans will threaten the integrity of the non -profit sector as a whole. Donators, according to them, may be reluctant to continue to contribute if they consider that money intended for the public good could be taken off in for -profit activities.
The coalition urged the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, to carefully examine the OPENAI conversion and launched a campaign In January to attract public attention to the issue. Effort has collected broad support, including some former OpenAi employees And IA researchers, who also urged the Bonta counterpart in Delaware – where Openai is chartered – to ensure that its mission is not compromised by restructuring. (The two prosecutor general offices said they were investigating the issue but provided little details.)
In March, Openai wanted to meet the Aguilar plaid coalition. In the offices of the San Francisco Foundation, Blackwell, Aguilar, and another coalition chief met two of OpenAi World Affairs, notably Debbie Mesloh, former principal adviser to the California Attorney General at the time, Kamala Harris.
OPENAI's HELD indicates that Reunion has raised a “number of false ideas on our business structure – many of which seemed to echo those expressed by musk.” Aguilar says that Optai wanted comments on the evolution of its non -profit mission. But left without a state of fundamental questions on the amount of financing and independence Openai allowed itself the charitable arm.
'Grand Damn Afford'
Another participant in the meeting was Daniel Zingale, a former retirement advisor to several California governors who now consults Openai. Mesloh and other business leaders who had known Zingale by California Politics wanted his help to summon a group of luminaires from the philanthropic world to give advice on how OPENAI should spend its charities and distribute its technology to other non -profit organizations. In 2023, Openai current non -profit arm has granted more than $ 2.6 million in grants, in particular to education establishments, IA security groups and economics researchers.
Zingale says that the plea of the Outside Coalition of Aguilar contributed to playing a role in the foundation of the Openai Advisory Commission, which began to meet on April 21 and whose recommendations are due before July 20. (The spokesperson for Openai said that the Commission was born from the way the Commission addressed whether the concerns submitted by lucrative activities. “).
Its members include the veteran political advisor Jack Oliver, the former director of the media Monica Lozano, and the 95 -year -old labor activist Huerta. They did not respond to requests for comments.
Zingale has also helped to recruit Robert Ross, who previously spent about a quarter of a century as CEO of California Endowment, one of the non -profit organizations that emerged from health care conversions from the 90s. Ross says that his old organization is largely recognized as a non -profit conversion, and he wants the same thing to be true for Openai.
“This is a big problem in civic and political circles that will have enormous consequences for civic society and marginalized and ill -served communities,” explains Ross. “Our task is more on the side of spending – how assets should be deployed. However, it is incomplete if we are not talking about governance problems. I suspect that you will see a report that will speak to both problems. ”
Aguilar says that it is skeptical about the efforts of the Advisory Committee. Although the Commission is supposed to find recommendations on how OPENAI can help guarantee that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from IA, Zingale and Ross tools say that they have little experience by using IA themselves.
“It is a fascinating company for me, because what I know about the AI could integrate into a denying die,” explains Ross, adding that it is impatient to learn from others that are more informed.
