The fund is also getting $5 million from the Knight Foundation, and a total of $2 million between the Raptor Group and the Hewlett Foundation. MIT Media Lab and Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society will be the first academic institutions conducting studies.

The backers acknowledge that there are a lot of factors to consider, and that there won't be any quick solutions. How do you write AI that considers ethics and morals? How do you make it accountable for its actions? And how do you ensure that companies building AI are working in the public interest without stifling their creativity? Someone has to get the ball rolling, though, and it won't be surprising if the fund helps influence technology for a long while.