Philanthropic Coalition Launches $500M Humanity AI Initiative to Put People at the Center of AI’s Future

A broad coalition of philanthropic leaders on Tuesday announced Humanity AI, a $500 million, five-year initiative aimed at ensuring people have a meaningful stake in the future of artificial intelligence.

Backed by ten major U.S. foundations, Humanity AI seeks to steer new investments toward a people-driven vision of AI — one that strengthens democracy, supports workers, protects creativity, enhances education, and safeguards security. The initiative comes amid growing concern that decisions about AI’s development and deployment are being shaped by a narrow set of corporate and technical interests, often without meaningful public input.

Founding partners include the Doris Duke Foundation, Ford Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Kapor Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Omidyar Network, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Siegel Family Endowment.

“As AI becomes embedded in nearly every aspect of society, people are asking fundamental questions about their role and value in an AI-driven future,” the coalition said. Workers worry about displacement, artists question how their work and intellectual property will be protected, and communities are grappling with the implications of AI for safety, democracy, and national security.

“Every day, people learn more about the ways AI is impacting their lives, and it can often feel like this technology is happening to us rather than with us and for us,” said John Palfrey, president of the MacArthur Foundation. “The stakes are too high to leave these decisions to a handful of companies. Humanity AI is about shifting that dynamic so AI is designed with people and the planet at the center.”

Five Focus Areas

Humanity AI funders have identified five priority areas for grantmaking:

• Democracy: Developing new frameworks to protect rights, freedoms, and democratic institutions in an AI-powered world.

• Education: Ensuring AI expands access to knowledge and strengthens learning outcomes for all students.

• Humanities and Culture: Protecting artists and creators while positioning AI as a tool that enhances — rather than replaces — human creativity.

• Labor and the Economy: Promoting AI that augments human work and supports broadly shared economic opportunity.

• Security: Holding AI developers and deployers to high standards to protect public safety, privacy, and financial fairness.

Aligned grantmaking across these areas is expected to begin in fall 2025, with pooled grants from Humanity AI slated for 2026. The coalition also plans to expand to include additional voices focused on the social and cultural impacts of AI.

“The message I want to resonate far and wide is this: AI is not destiny, it is design,” said Michele L. Jawando, president of Omidyar Network. “The future will not be written by algorithms. It will be written by people — collectively — and the choices we make now will determine whether AI amplifies human potential or erodes it.”

Governance and Next Steps

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors will serve as Humanity AI’s fiscal sponsor and manage a pooled grant fund. The organization will hire a small team, beginning with an executive director, to support collaboration among funders and advance the initiative’s goals.

Separately, the MacArthur Foundation announced it is hiring a Director of AI Opportunity to oversee its new Big Bet Program, which will focus on expanding who builds, uses, and benefits from AI, particularly at the intersection of work and the economy.

Humanity AI said it welcomes additional funders and organizations interested in shaping a future where communities have greater agency in how AI is developed and deployed.