Shared Code: Democratizing AI Companies

Drawing on our work with earlier legacies of shared ownership and governance and our involvement in the AI industry, we believe there are significant opportunities to develop dynamic, accountable ownership designs for AI companies. Our recommendations fall along a few major points.

Build with people: AI developers are highly-engaged and mission-driven, and their users are often passionate about the tools; companies should experiment with models that vest decision-making authority with stakeholders at all levels of the process

Build with purpose: Use company structure and external entities to lock in the values of the organization.

Build with the commons: Develop multiple levels of governance and accountability across a composable stack of technical systems and legal entities.