Why are Big Tech moguls planning a $300 billion giveaway?

The Washington Post reported today that OpenAI, Anthropic and Elon Musk have pledged an estimated $300 billion to philanthropic projects. They acknowledge that their technology can be disruptive - job loss due to automation, creation of new national security threats, etc. They say they are attempting to soften the blow with this massive donation.

Unacknowledged is probably the biggest reason: they hope to buy a continuation of the government’s hands-off AI policy. That way they can continue to do whatever they want with the new technology. It’s really dangerous to leave these decisions up to the moguls, when it’s ordinary Americans that will suffer the consequences!

Here’s the link to the WaPo article, sadly only available if you have a subscription.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/10/22/elon-musk-ai-rivals-pledge-give-away-more-than-300-billion/?utm_campaign=wp_the7&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=&utm_term=