By Shubhangi Chowdhury
AI startup Anthropic has started a new program to look into how fast-growing AI is affecting jobs and the global economy. On June 27, the company launched the Economic Futures Program, which will support research on how AI is changing the way human force work and live.
“This program will serve as an extension of Anthropic’s Economic Index and its insights on AI usage across the workforce. Our goal for this program is to contribute to the development of new research and potential responses to the impacts of AI on the labor market and global economy,” said the company in a post announcement.
The goal is to support research on how AI is affecting the world and to encourage new ideas on how to reduce its negative effects.
Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei has been vocal about the potential economic impact of AI. In a recent statement, he warned that within five years, AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs—roles like customer support, data entry, and basic financial analysis. This sparked concern within the Trump administration, which has been trying to promote innovation as a way to stay ahead of China in the tech race.
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He’s not alone. Other companies and experts have raised red flags too. IBM’s CEO Arvind Krishna said last year that they planned to pause hiring for roles that could eventually be replaced by AI, like back-office HR functions. Goldman Sachs also released a report estimating that AI could replace up to 300 million full-time jobs globally.
These growing warnings point to the need for clearer policy action and workforce planning as AI adoption accelerates. “We just really want to catalyze more people to be thinking about this, studying this,” said Sarah Heck, Anthropic’s head of policy programs and partnerships. “This is really a wide call for people thinking creatively about how we can study the broad effects of AI.”
Anthropic has put together its own team of economic experts, and they’re planning to give out 20 to 50 research grants where each worth up to $50,000. On top of that, they’ll offer free access to their AI tools to help researchers dig deeper into the data and come up with meaningful insights.
The program also aims to create new spaces where researchers and policymakers can come together to share ideas and plan for the big changes AI could bring. This fall, Anthropic is organizing conferences in Washington, D.C., and in Europe to present early findings and open up discussions around solutions.
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Anthropic was started in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI employees, including Amodei, who wanted to put more emphasis on building AI systems with safety as a top priority. Their belief is that the best way to manage powerful AI is by developing it carefully from the start, with safety built into every step.