Dr. William M. Plater
Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of
Philanthropic Studies, Public Policy, and English
Indiana University Indianapolis
Dr. Genevieve Shaker
Donald A. Campbell Chair in Fundraising Leadership
Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Artificial Intelligence and Philanthropy: The Cybernetics of Philanthropy from 1974 to 2024
William M. Plater and Genevieve G. Shaker
Philanthropia, 2024
OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, was founded as a nonprofit with a mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. ChatGPT was therefore intended to advance the common good, sharing an underlying principle with philanthropy and the nonprofit organizations it supports. This was not the first association of machine learning with philanthropy, particularly in terms of algorithms designed for control versus those aimed at doing good. In 1974, a white paper by Heinz Von Foerster, a polymath scientist who happened to be president of an important foundation, considered the potential of computer-based feedback systems to improve “giving with a purpose.” A review of his paper served as the impetus for this essay, which explores the antecedents of contemporary predictions regarding the potential of AI to enhance the practice of philanthropy.
William M. Plater, PhD, is Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Philanthropic Studies, Public Policy, and English at Indiana University Indianapolis, where he also served Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculties. He continues to be engaged with the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Genevieve G. Shaker, PhD, is the Donald A. Campbell Chair in Fundraising Leadership and Professor of Philanthropic Studies at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Professor Shaker’s research focuses on fundraising and fundraisers, philanthropy education, and higher education advancement. Emerging research interests include the roles and practices of fundraisers around the world. She is the lead editor of the fifth edition of Achieving Excellence in Fundraising (2022), a key educational resource for the field.