OpenAI Could Be a Force for Good if It Can Answer These Questions First

OpenAI is now worth as much as Goldman Sachs or AT&T. The artificial intelligence start-up behind ChatGPT has also said it intends to shed its status as a nonprofit to become a for-profit business within two years. Outside experts and OpenAI employees have expressed concern that as a result, the company will shy away from its founding purpose — to build safe A.I. to “benefit all of humanity” — in favor of earning profits for investors.

Artificial intelligence may be the most consequential technological advance in our lifetime, and OpenAI is unique in the breadth of its potential impact. Its product could displace workers in far-flung industries, from customer service to radiology to film production. Its work is so energy-hungry that it could knock off track the planet’s progress on climate change.

I’m not a defense expert or a science-fiction writer, but it’s clear the effect it will have on our democracy, national security and privacy will be profound. That means how we structure the business of A.I. is a decision that carries great significance.

OpenAI has responded to these concerns by saying it will become a public benefit corporation. A benefit corporation is a traditional for-profit company with one key difference: It is legally obligated to balance profit with purpose. Public benefit corporation leaders and boards must consider workers, customers, communities and the environment, not just shareholders, as in a standard corporation.

This idea — some call it “stakeholder governance” — has caught the imagination of business leaders, with an estimated 15,000 companies globally adopting the new legal form. Think of Patagonia, Allbirds, Chobani and Warby Parker.

I helped write the model benefit corporation legislation as a co-founder of the B Corp movement, a community of over 9,000 companies dedicated to using business as a force for good. I championed its passage alongside many business leaders, including Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard.