Elon Musk announced that he will give every "child in America" one of his own SpaceX shares next year. While announcing his promise on social media, Musk did not share details regarding who would be considered eligible, the method by which the shares would be distributed, or the timeline for the implementation.
SpaceX shares closed on Friday at 146.03 dollars. Considering that there are approximately 73 million children under the age of 18 in the US, the total value of the promise announced by Musk reaches approximately 10.66 billion dollars based on the closing price.
Musk's statement came after the artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced that it would allocate 5 percent of its shares to a newly established "public benefit" fund. Anthropic stated that the shares in question would be transferred to the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, which is wholly owned by the company, and that the fund could grow if the value increases.
Responding to Anthropic's post, Musk said, "I recommend giving the shares directly to the public." In his post regarding the SpaceX share promise, he said, "This will be the first of many more to come."
The statements come at a time when concerns about artificial intelligence are increasing in the US. According to the latest poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 64 percent of Americans think that artificial intelligence is developing "too fast." In the survey, the rate of those who said the development is "just right" was 27 percent, while the rate of those who stated it is progressing "too slowly" was 8 percent.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Musk, and some other leading names in the sector expressed the opinion last month that artificial intelligence development should be slowed down. However, global competition, profit pressure, and political objections are seen as obstacles to a coordinated step in this direction.
SpaceX is expected to announce its quarterly balance sheet on Tuesday. The company's shares have fallen 35.3 percent since the peak they reached a few days after the initial public offering.
News Source: 12punto
