San Francisco, July 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fathom, an organization mapping the ambitions of a broad and diverse society to the specific steps required to move toward its vision for a world with AI, announced today that it is launching with $25M dedicated to its efforts. As its first steps, Fathom is releasing an initial set of insights from polling and ongoing focus groups that show a growing consensus on the role of government and AI companies in the development and implementation of AI.
“The explosion of artificial intelligence means that we need new ways to have thoughtful conversations between technologists, policymakers — and just about everyone else. It’s important that there be a trusted voice to ground these conversations with data about the real concerns and aspirations of the American public,” said Andy Hickl, Fathom advisor and CTO of the Allen Institute. “I’m inspired by Fathom’s commitment to developing expertise on AI and translating society’s ambitions into a roadmap that reflects the diverse voices and perspectives necessary for a balanced and inclusive AI future.”
“Building an inclusive roadmap starts with listening, and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for the last three months — meeting with civic, business, tech, and policy leaders, holding focus groups, and polling the public,” said Blake Pierson, Co-Founder and CEO of Fathom. “There will be more to share in the future, but today we wanted to share a few insights about how the public is thinking about AI today.”
The poll, conducted in consultation with leading pollsters across parties including Molly Murphy (D, Impact Research) and Patrick Ruffini (R, Echelon Insights) shows an America evenly divided across party lines between being excited, concerned, and ambivalent about AI. It is, however, united in that a strong majority of voters (66%) believe the federal government ‘has a role to play in developing guardrails and protections to address concerns about how artificial intelligence is developed and used.’ This belief is nonpartisan, with 60% of Republicans, 72% of Democrats, and 64% of Independents expressing this view.
Americans also believe, however, that these same policymakers lack the knowledge and expertise to effectively govern AI, and are too slow to act. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters do not trust the federal government to govern AI properly. They are also ambivalent (50%-47%) toward the ability of the companies developing AI to develop the proper guardrails. When asked who they would trust, 65% of likely voters said that they would trust a public-private coalition to ensure that AI develops with the proper guardrails — a belief that also crosses party lines.
Download the full Fathom Report or summary.
“Our poll shows the rough position Congress will be in as the power of AI continues to grow and the technology becomes ubiquitous,” said Andrew Freedman, Co-Founder and Chief Strategic Officer of Fathom. “The vast majority of Americans believe that the government must play a crucial role, and an even greater majority doubts that it will be able to do so. Our poll and focus groups have also shown us that Americans are already growing skeptical of AI companies’ ability to value societal interests above profit. To be clear, both of these groups are instrumental in the discussion, but they need a much broader and more diverse set of voices empowered to join the conversation if we are going to find a positive and inclusive approach to implementing AI. That’s why Fathom exists.”
Fathom will translate the needs, hopes, and fears of society into a practical roadmap for action through listening, learning, and educating. To inform these efforts, Fathom is announcing a research network, starting with the Technology and Security Policy Center at RAND and the Wadhwani Center for AI and Advanced Technologies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. These research centers will focus on gathering new and novel research about the best paths forward in using AI to ensure national security and defense. The network will expand in the coming months to support Fathom’s other current research areas: AI & Business and Innovation and AI & Democracy and Society.
Fathom is also announcing that it will hold its first annual summit on January 7-9, 2025. This first-of-its-kind event will convene experts, advocates, and leaders from a wide array of sectors and backgrounds to assess existing learnings about AI’s potential and the best ways to responsibly guide its use in core areas. As Washington moves from campaigning in the first post-AI election to governing, this summit will focus on how policymakers and stakeholders should be thinking about AI and produce a set of recommendations to serve as a framework for efforts to chart a course for AI development and deployment.
About Fathom
Fathom is informed by an impressive and growing roster of advisors and researchers whose expertise spans national security, government, civic participation, innovation, and the social and ethical implications of AI, including:
- Ret. Rear Admiral Wyman (Hugh W. Howard III.), Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command
- Professor S. Craig Watkins, Executive Director of the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin
- Professor Eitan Hersh, Professor of Political Science at Tufts University
- Andy Hickl, Chief Technology Officer of the Allen Institute
- Dr. Steve Omohundro, Founder and CEO of Beneficial AI Research
- Dr. Jeff Alstott, Director, RAND Center for Technology & Security Policy
- Gregory C. Allen, Director, Wadhwani Center for AI and Advanced Technologies, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Fathom was founded by three people who have the experience and expertise to bridge the gap between D.C., Silicon Valley, and the rest of America:
Blake Pierson is the CEO of Fathom. Blake’s roots are as an entrepreneur and builder. He spent more than a decade in Silicon Valley deeply understanding the needs, hopes, and fears of users before building technology and teams to solve and meet those needs.
Andrew Freedman is the Chief Strategic Officer at Fathom. Andrew has over 15 years of expertise in coalition building in the technology and emerging regulatory sectors, including as partner at a top 10 D.C. government affairs firm. Notably, Andrew implemented the first-in-the-world cannabis regulatory system in Colorado.
Julie Crabill is the Chief Communications Officer at Fathom. Julie is a communicator and storyteller who has spent the last two decades focused on building communities, branding, and reputation management, with a focus on technologies that help people live better lives.
Fathom is an independent 501(c)(3) that wants to see society successfully transition to a world with AI. This requires that everyone - from businesses and NGOs to everyday people - has a say in what that world looks like. Fathom is here to map the ambitions of a broad and diverse society to the specific steps required to move it toward its vision for the future. Get involved at www.fathom.org.
