Anthropic Launches Economic Futures Program to Study AI’s Real-World Impact

Anthropic has launched the Economic Futures Program, a new research and policy initiative designed to ground the conversation around AI’s economic effects in evidence rather than speculation. The program will provide grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, access to Claude AI tools, and venues for academic-policy collaboration. It also expands the Anthropic Economic Index, a data tool tracking how frontier models affect job tasks and economic indicators. The initiative is structured around three core components: research funding for empirical projects and policy briefs, convenings in Washington, D.C. and Europe, and support for tools that track AI’s economic footprint. Grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with the first round of awards slated for mid-August. Proposals for policy symposia are due by July 25, 2025. The target audience includes economists, policy scholars, graduate students, and institutions studying the evolving relationship between AI and work. This move positions Anthropic as a data-forward stakeholder in AI governance. By investing in open research and offering public tools, the company is pushing for more rigorous analysis in policy debates. It also sharpens the contrast with firms that focus primarily on AI capabilities without addressing long-term economic impacts. As AI systems continue to change the labor market, programs like this may shape both public understanding and regulatory frameworks.