Are you still watching? See Netflix co-founder commit $50 million to AI ethics education at Bowdoin College

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings is making a landmark investment in AI education through a $50 million donation to Bowdoin College, his alma mater. This gift—the largest in the liberal arts college’s 231-year history—establishes an initiative focused on integrating AI research and teaching within ethical frameworks. The donation represents a significant commitment to addressing the profound ethical questions surrounding artificial intelligence development at the undergraduate level, combining liberal arts perspectives with technological innovation.

The big picture: Hastings is funding the creation of the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity to advance Bowdoin’s mission of “cultivating wisdom for the common good” through deeper engagement with artificial intelligence.

• The initiative aims to provide ethical frameworks for emerging technology by combining liberal arts education with AI exploration.
• This represents one of the largest investments in AI education at a small liberal arts college rather than a major research university.

Key details: The initiative will significantly expand Bowdoin’s faculty and research capabilities in AI-related fields.

• The college will hire 10 new faculty members across various disciplines to support the initiative.
• The program will provide funding and fellowships for current and new faculty to incorporate AI into their teaching, research, and artistic work.
• The initiative will also focus on leading conversations about AI’s societal impacts, changes, and challenges.

What they’re saying: Both Hastings and Bowdoin’s leadership emphasize the critical importance of combining ethical thinking with AI advancement.

• “As AI becomes smarter than humans, we are going to need some deep thinking to keep us flourishing,” said Hastings, highlighting Bowdoin’s potential contribution to these fundamental issues.
• “We are thrilled and so grateful to receive this remarkable support from Reed, who shares our conviction that the AI revolution makes the liberal arts and a Bowdoin education more essential to society,” stated Bowdoin College President Safa Zaki.

Behind the numbers: Hastings has both personal connections to Bowdoin and professional experience in AI that inform this donation.

• Hastings graduated from Bowdoin in 1983 before earning a master’s degree in artificial intelligence from Stanford University in 1988.
• He co-founded Netflix in 1997 and served as CEO for 25 years before becoming executive chairman in 2023.
• Bowdoin College, founded in 1794 in Brunswick, Maine, has approximately 2,000 undergraduate students and offers more than 40 majors.

Why this matters: The donation represents a significant investment in preparing liberal arts students to address the complex ethical questions surrounding AI development.

• The initiative positions Bowdoin to develop interdisciplinary approaches to AI that extend beyond technical implementation to include ethical, social, and philosophical dimensions.
• President Zaki’s background as a cognitive scientist who focuses on computational models of the mind provides specialized leadership for the initiative.