Episode Details

[Linkpost] “Donate Less to AI Safety*” by Sophie Kim

Published 6 days, 4 hours ago

Description

This is a link post.

*if you want us to win

In one sense, AI safety is not funding-constrained. There are hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into research orgs, more coming with the Anthropic IPO, and grantmakers are already struggling to deploy what they have.

And yet: the AI industry spent over $100 million lobbying the federal government in 2025, while the biggest AI safety c4 spent $310,000.

The highest-leverage path for donors looking to give to AI safety right now is to give less money, but to more neglected destinations.

Specifically, you should strongly consider routing what would have been a c3 gift to a c4 instead, calibrated to equivalent personal cost.

c3 vs c4: What's the difference?[1]

501(c)3 organizations are very limited in terms of the amount of money and time they can spend on lobbying and political advocacy-shaped work. They’re also strictly prohibited from participating in political campaigns or supporting candidates:

Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office… Violating this prohibition may result in denial or [...]

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Outline:

(01:06) c3 vs c4: Whats the difference?

(02:30) Why does it matter?

(06:50) Worth a callout: $320,000 per day

(08:09) Lobbying works, which is why the AI industry spends so much on it:

(09:12) Research vs. Lobbying

(10:01) The Pitch: Same Money, Different Structure, More Impact

(11:16) Some numbers

(12:57) The floor: important to know for mid-tier donors

(13:58) Caveats

(14:16) Specific Funding Recommendations