# The Windfall Clause: Distributing the Benefits of AI for the Common Good

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.11595 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.11595/

## Key facts

- Cited by 13 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 25 Dec 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 13 of 13)

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- [Social physics in the age of artificial intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.16900/) (2026)
- [Evolutionary mechanisms that promote cooperation may not promote social welfare](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.05373/) (2024)
- [Both eyes open: Vigilant Incentives help Regulatory Markets improve AI Safety](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.03174/) (2023)
- [AI Royalties -- an IP Framework to Compensate Artists & IP Holders for AI-Generated Content](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.11857/) (2024)
- [Understanding Emergent Behaviours in Multi-Agent Systems with Evolutionary Game Theory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.07369/) (2022)
- [Safe Transformative AI via a Windfall Clause](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.09404/) (2021)
- [When Do AI Gains Become Broadly Shareable? A Policy Threshold for AI-Driven Automation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.18687/) (2025)
- [Growth Without Us: Machine Consumers, Corporate Circularity, and the Decoupling of GDP from Humanity after AGI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.20231/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

As the transformative potential of AI has become increasingly salient as a matter of public and political interest, there has been growing discussion about the need to ensure that AI broadly benefits humanity. This in turn has spurred debate on the social responsibilities of large technology companies to serve the interests of society at large. In response, ethical principles and codes of conduct have been proposed to meet the escalating demand for this responsibility to be taken seriously. As yet, however, few institutional innovations have been suggested to translate this responsibility into legal commitments which apply to companies positioned to reap large financial gains from the development and use of AI. This paper offers one potentially attractive tool for addressing such issues: the Windfall Clause, which is an ex ante commitment by AI firms to donate a significant amount of any eventual extremely large profits. By this we mean an early commitment that profits that a firm could not earn without achieving fundamental, economically transformative breakthroughs in AI capabilities will be donated to benefit humanity broadly, with particular attention towards mitigating any downsides from deployment of windfall-generating AI.