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> Shame they're already for-profit... But don't worry, they Pinky Promise to be For The Public Benefit :) Anthropic is legally a Delaware Public Benefit corpor

> Shame they're already for-profit... But don't worry, they Pinky Promise to be For The Public Benefit :) Anthropic is legally a Delaware Public Benefit corporation so it's written into their corporate governance. How effective that governance will be at balancing the public benefit with profit remains to be seen, but it's a lot more than just a pinky promise.

bbor 2y ago
Thanks for the correction! I was mixing up "Public Benefit Corporation", which is a legal offering by state governments, and "B-Corp", which is a non-profit that certifies wholesome for-profit firms like the Tillamook Dairy Cooperative. I'd stand by the general assertion that it's little more than a pinky promise because they merely have to "balance" the concerns according to "any reasonable person"--an extremely weak-seeming obligation to this non-lawyer--but it's certainly much more impactful than I thought, namely: Sections 365 (b) and (c) provide broad protection to directors of public benefit corporations against claims based on interests other than those of stockholders https://www.legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=22350 https://www.legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=2235... Good on you, Anthropic! In this specific case I believe in the director(s) a lot more than I believe in the shareholders ethics-wise, so it seems like a perfect choice. They can always fire him/them I suppose, but truly catastrophic AI risks would move faster than that, anyway.
- sirspacey 2y ago
  Yes, this is the real legal accomplishment of B-Corps! By law and precedent a C-Corp’s only obligation is to shareholders, thanks to a case from almost a century ago: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Co.#:~:text=Ford%20Motor%20Co.,-Article&text=Article-,Dodge%20v.,of%20his%20employees%20or%20customers https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Co.#:~:t.... A B-Corp was the first and somewhat successful attempt to create a legal framework where company executives are allowed to work on behalf of all their stakeholders without it creating an automatic basis for a suit. Generally, people who care very deeply about a thing bring a higher ethical standard than any regulatory body can impose.

bbor 2y ago

Thanks for the correction! I was mixing up "Public Benefit Corporation", which is a legal offering by state governments, and "B-Corp", which is a non-profit that certifies wholesome for-profit firms like the Tillamook Dairy Cooperative. I'd stand by the general assertion that it's little more than a pinky promise because they merely have to "balance" the concerns according to "any reasonable person"--an extremely weak-seeming obligation to this non-lawyer--but it's certainly much more impactful than I thought, namely: Sections 365 (b) and (c) provide broad protection to directors of public benefit corporations against claims based on interests other than those of stockholders https://www.legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=22350 https://www.legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=2235... Good on you, Anthropic! In this specific case I believe in the director(s) a lot more than I believe in the shareholders ethics-wise, so it seems like a perfect choice. They can always fire him/them I suppose, but truly catastrophic AI risks would move faster than that, anyway.

sirspacey 2y ago
Yes, this is the real legal accomplishment of B-Corps! By law and precedent a C-Corp’s only obligation is to shareholders, thanks to a case from almost a century ago: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Co.#:~:text=Ford%20Motor%20Co.,-Article&text=Article-,Dodge%20v.,of%20his%20employees%20or%20customers https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Co.#:~:t.... A B-Corp was the first and somewhat successful attempt to create a legal framework where company executives are allowed to work on behalf of all their stakeholders without it creating an automatic basis for a suit. Generally, people who care very deeply about a thing bring a higher ethical standard than any regulatory body can impose.