For AI governance suggestions, OpenAI to offer grants of $100,000

From a $1 million fund, OpenAI said it would distribute 10 equally sized grants for experiments to ascertain the best way to regulate AI software.

The $100,000 grants will be given to recipients who present compelling frameworks for addressing issues like whether AI should criticize public figures and what it should consider the average person in the world, according to a blog post announcing the fund.

Critics claim that because of the inputs used to form their opinions, AI systems like ChatGPT have an inherent bias. Users have discovered instances of racist or sexist AI software output. There are growing worries that AI combined with search engines like Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Microsoft Corp.'s Bing could produce false information that appears credible.

Microsoft has contributed $10 billion to OpenAI, which has been leading the charge for AI regulation. However, it recently made a threat to leave the European Union over proposed regulations.

The startup's grants wouldn't support a lot of AI study. Salary for AI engineers and other professionals in this booming industry easily exceeds $100,000 and can reach $300,000.

While the San Francisco startup stated that no recommendations would be "binding," it did say that the funding's outcomes might influence its own views on AI governance.

Altman has been a leading proponent for AI regulation in addition to releasing updated versions of ChatGPT and the DALL-E image generator. He cautioned that if the technology goes wrong, it could go very wrong during his testimony this month before a Senate subcommittee.