TRANSPARENCY & GOVERNANCE
Partnership on AI (“PAI”) is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It was originally established by a coalition of representatives from technology companies, civil society organizations, and academic institutions, and supported originally by multi-year grants from Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google/DeepMind, IBM and Microsoft.
Funding
PAI is funded by a combination of philanthropic institutions and corporate charitable contributions.
Primary corporate funding is always considered general operating support and legally classified as non-earmarked charitable contributions (not donations in exchange for goods or services, or quid pro quo contributions) to avoid the possibility of conflict in corporate funders having undue influence on PAI’s agenda or on particular programs.
Our Current Funders:
- Luminate Group
- MacArthur Foundation
- Pivotal Ventures
- Ford Foundation
- Knight Foundation
- Sloan Foundation
Governance
Independence
PAI is an independent organization. While supported and shaped by our Partner community, PAI is ultimately more than the sum of its parts, and will make independent determinations to which its Partners will collectively contribute, but never individually dictate. As such, PAI does not exist to be in service of any one Partner organization. Rather, its Partners contribute in the service of the organization’s mission, which is grounded in the public interest.
Board Structure & Membership
The PAI bylaws require an equal number of for-profit company and not-for-profit organization representatives as sitting Board Directors. At PAI’s inception, six non-profit Directors were recruited to the PAI Board, including individuals with backgrounds from civil society organizations, academic institutions, and philanthropy, to join Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google/DeepMind, IBM, and Microsoft as PAI Directors. Google and DeepMind share a Board seat that rotates year over year. A complete roster of our current Board members can be found here.
PAI’s Board of Directors act principally in fiduciary and oversight capacities, providing guidance and approval for the overall research and strategic framework for the organization. Directors do not make determinations about the substance or outcomes of PAI’s work at the project level. This avoids Board Directors from dictating the outcomes of research or recommendations issued by PAI, even when such research and recommendations are not aligned with the profit interests of founding companies.
Companies and organizations that desire to join PAI as a Partner may apply for membership at any time during the calendar year by submitting a Partner membership application. All Partner membership applications must be approved by the Board for acceptance. Following membership acceptance, each for-profit Partner makes an annual charitable contribution.