There you have it! Anthropic says it will put 5% of its shares into a new "Public Benefit Fund," …
October 20, 2026 · 0 likes · 0 comments
AI Workforce
There you have it! Anthropic says it will put 5% of its shares into a new "Public Benefit Fund," and the day after, Elon Musk pledged to give one of his SpaceX shares to every kid in America next year.
Anthropic's fund would be a wholly owned LLC subsidiary of the company. Not an independent nonprofit. It still needs stockholder approval. Anthropic says it could give to nonprofits or send money directly to "specific populations," and that none of it will go to lobbying or political donations. Extra top-ups of 2% for every 50% the valuation rises above a baseline are at the board's discretion. Who runs the fund, who decides where the money goes and what triggers those top-ups? Not announced yet. Details are promised in the coming months.
The company itself names AI's hit on the job market as a main target. Its statement said "given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed." Calcalist estimates the 5% stake at roughly $75 billion to $100 billion at the IPO valuations being reported.
Musk wrote on X: "Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many." Outlets put it at about $10.5 billion to $11 billion. He has not said how kids would receive or hold the shares, or who is eligible. Bloomberg reported he intends to use Trump Accounts. Musk has not confirmed that route.
I wrote REPLACEMENT because AI is replacing entire teams and career paths right now, not in ten years. Anthropic's own CEO has predicted AI could eliminate 50% of white-collar work before the end of the decade.
In the book I called UBI what it is: the backup plan being sold to the public. Altman funded a UBI study, and the recipients worked fewer hours and earned less. People need goals. A check and an order to stay home is not a future.
So here's my question. Is this the new answer from the people building these models? They see the disruption coming, a monthly check doesn't hold up, so they reach for equity instead: a slice of the upside, handed out by the companies themselves.
My read is that it's at least an admission. Nobody pledges tens of billions for "the public good" tied to job-market fallout if they think jobs are fine. AI analyst Andrew Curran said the plan looks like a step toward Anthropic's own form of universal basic income. Palmer Luckey asked who gets to define the public good. Fair question.
Equity owned and steered by the same company that is automating your job is still a gift on its terms, not a plan for your career.
A share is not a paycheck. Your real protection is still the one you build yourself: learn to run these agents before they run you out.
If you haven't read REPLACEMENT yet, that's exactly what it's about: https://lnkd.in/gZCFR5Tk
And if you'd rather listen, the new Unbiased Headlines Podcast Daily is out every day. Free: https://lnkd.in/e8inH2cE
Anthropic's fund would be a wholly owned LLC subsidiary of the company. Not an independent nonprofit. It still needs stockholder approval. Anthropic says it could give to nonprofits or send money directly to "specific populations," and that none of it will go to lobbying or political donations. Extra top-ups of 2% for every 50% the valuation rises above a baseline are at the board's discretion. Who runs the fund, who decides where the money goes and what triggers those top-ups? Not announced yet. Details are promised in the coming months.
The company itself names AI's hit on the job market as a main target. Its statement said "given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed." Calcalist estimates the 5% stake at roughly $75 billion to $100 billion at the IPO valuations being reported.
Musk wrote on X: "Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many." Outlets put it at about $10.5 billion to $11 billion. He has not said how kids would receive or hold the shares, or who is eligible. Bloomberg reported he intends to use Trump Accounts. Musk has not confirmed that route.
I wrote REPLACEMENT because AI is replacing entire teams and career paths right now, not in ten years. Anthropic's own CEO has predicted AI could eliminate 50% of white-collar work before the end of the decade.
In the book I called UBI what it is: the backup plan being sold to the public. Altman funded a UBI study, and the recipients worked fewer hours and earned less. People need goals. A check and an order to stay home is not a future.
So here's my question. Is this the new answer from the people building these models? They see the disruption coming, a monthly check doesn't hold up, so they reach for equity instead: a slice of the upside, handed out by the companies themselves.
My read is that it's at least an admission. Nobody pledges tens of billions for "the public good" tied to job-market fallout if they think jobs are fine. AI analyst Andrew Curran said the plan looks like a step toward Anthropic's own form of universal basic income. Palmer Luckey asked who gets to define the public good. Fair question.
Equity owned and steered by the same company that is automating your job is still a gift on its terms, not a plan for your career.
A share is not a paycheck. Your real protection is still the one you build yourself: learn to run these agents before they run you out.
If you haven't read REPLACEMENT yet, that's exactly what it's about: https://lnkd.in/gZCFR5Tk
And if you'd rather listen, the new Unbiased Headlines Podcast Daily is out every day. Free: https://lnkd.in/e8inH2cE