When world leaders gathered at the United Nations in New York last month, there were many somber meetings about how to tackle the crucial problems of global health at a time when governments, led by the United States, have sharply reduced financial support. But there were also other meetings: small gatherings, in private dining rooms, where new interlocutors grilled veteran leaders of international health organizations with unfamiliar and startling questions: What would you do with another billion dollars? What are the “shovel ready” projects that could quickly absorb $100 million or more?
A senior executive, emerging dazed from one of those dinners, described it as “a gold rush,” a frantic scramble as organizations sought to make sure they were in line to grab a share of what is anticipated to be a monumental wave of new funding for health aid. The source is the wealth coming from the initial public offerings of major artificial intelligence companies, starting as soon as next month. These could put tens of billions of dollars of new philanthropic money in the hands of charities chosen or set up by a new class of ultrawealthy givers, many of whom have a demonstrated interest in global health.
The A.I. windfall, which some are calling a “third wave of philanthropy,” may rival or even exceed the amount given by the governments of wealthy nations. The new funders bring a tech founder mind-set that could spur ambition, accelerate the introduction of new drugs and tools, and hold sclerotic institutions to new standards of performance. But these funders tend to have a preoccupation with metrics and results that does not easily graft to the complex work of ending poverty.
And as they become some of the most powerful players in the field, the shift could undermine the sovereignty of low-income countries trying to take control of their own health systems after decades of heavy-handed external influence. Neil Buddy Shah, chief executive officer of the nonprofit Clinton Health Access Initiative, who has become an influential voice with tech executives planning to give away large portions of their coming fortunes. Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times For decades the global health architecture has been structured around wealthy governments that donate to low-income countries reliant on their help, aid agencies that run programs, a few huge multilateral organizations, and a beneficent billionaire, Bill Gates, as an additional playmaker.
Gates’ foundation will give away $9 billion this year, most of it to global health, the largest amount of philanthropic spending in the world. The seven co-founders of Anthropic, which is valued at close to a trillion dollars and poised to stage its I.P.O. next month, have pledged to give away 80 percent of their wealth. On Sunday, the company said it will commit five percent of its shares to a new public benefit fund.
The OpenAI Foundation holds 26 percent of OpenAI, which is valued at about $850 billion. OpenAI has already granted roughly $80 billion in vested equity to employees. Pledged money is not the same as actual donations, however, and concerns about A.I. security could postpone the initial public offerings or lower the companies’ market values.
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