Tarbell Foundation to Spend $10 Million on AI Journalism, Drawing 'Doomer Fear Factory' Backlash
nptacek · x · 2026-10-06
A Semafor scoop reports the Tarbell Foundation will spend $10 million over the next year funding journalism about AI, including a grant to the new Machine Gods project.
The news immediately drew pushback: Adam Thierer called it another boost for "doomer journalism" from the EA crowd, accusing funders of building a fear factory to fuel dystopianism and advance what he calls the war on computation. The episode highlights the ongoing clash between AI-safety philanthropy and tech optimists over who shapes public AI narratives.
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