Is your giving future-proof? How AI could change what works in philanthropy

Many of the philanthropists and funders I work with choose their funding priorities based on a blend of what is meaningful to them and where need is greatest. Although interests and values might differ between individuals and families, the landscape of areas needing support has remained – broadly – stable over the last few years. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, we did not see the underlying needs map get fundamentally redrawn. 

AI is transforming all of that, and an astute philanthropist or funder will now be thinking about building greater flexibility into their grant-making plans. A five-year strategy might seem appealing, but a half-decade time horizon is now far too long; the world could change entirely in a period of just two years.

Unemployment will increase – but not across all sectors

Anyone that tells you they can predict the future of AI is almost certainly fibbing. That said, it is possible to set out some reasonable projections for the near term.

Let’s start with knowledge worker jobs. Anthropic’s Chief Executive warned in May 2025 that half of entry-level white collar roles could be gone within five years, with unemployment potentially reaching 10%–20%. A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology gives chilling credence to this, finding that AI could already replace 11.7% of the US labour market, or as much as $1.2tn in wages. 

The hollowing out of the middle class – the ‘barbell economy’ where growth concentrates at the high and low ends of the wage spectrum – is no longer a distant hypothesis. Charities and funders will both need to start responding to needs created by growing unemployment and underemployment. This means targeting issues like poverty, debt, mental health and homelessness, to name just a few.

But the picture isn’t bleak across the board. Anthropic’s labour market research maps theoretical AI capability against actual usage across different professions. What’s striking is that some sectors look almost untouched by AI developments. Trade and interpersonal roles seem to be lower risk, as are bespoke services, care work and quality hospitality. For some things, people still need and want people.

Where AI progress can magnify the impact of your giving 

The economics might be gloomy, but AI is having a positive impact in some areas. Wellcome’s research shows that AI-driven drug research and development from discovery through to preclinical stage could achieve time and cost savings of up to 25%–50%. It’s likely we’re about to enter a period where funding for medical research goes further than it ever has before. 

Alongside this, there are good news stories in conservation. Projects like those of Rainforest Connection use AI to analyse acoustic data from sensors in the Amazon, detecting chainsaws in real time and alerting rangers to illegal logging. For philanthropists, AI can mean moving from retrospective reporting to real-time analysis and protection.

AI-preparedness work also looks promising. This includes programmes building financial resilience, developing skills in fields less exposed to automation, or preparing people for a different kind of economy. Alongside this, influencing AI governance and safety is vital: organisations like the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Centre for AI Safety are trying to shape the rules while there is still time to do so.

AI will create uncertainty and new pressures 

Employment-focused interventions are likely to face real challenges. Job training programmes and employability services do important work, but the honest question in this space is whether the roles people are being trained for will still exist. Organisations in this field should be reviewing their work and building in genuine adaptability, or they risk preparing people for jobs that may no longer be there. 

Some service delivery models will also face pressure – not because the need disappears, but because AI will start doing parts of the work faster and cheaper. CV writing support, benefits navigation, legal template services and information and referral functions are all areas that could see heavy AI adoption. The risk for funders now is in celebrating efficiency gains without understanding what has changed: the relational knowledge and hard-won expertise that make these services genuinely useful can’t be easily replicated by AI tools.

So, what can funders do? 

A good place to start would be to review your giving with AI disruption as an explicit lens. For each cause area, ask: Will this intervention still work? Does this issue become more or less tractable if AI development continues at its current pace? Does that mean the need is growing or shrinking – and does that change how I should fund it? 

If an area is becoming more tractable, it might be that it still needs funding, but you might recalibrate the expected impact of your donation. Conversely, if it’s becoming harder to tackle, that might be a signal that the approach requires fresh thinking or more resources, not that funding should stop. 

Secondly, talk to your grantees carefully about AI. Ask how it is affecting their work, their team, and their ability to deliver. Be alert to both genuine efficiencies and what might be quietly going missing.

Finally, make sure you are embracing best practice with your grant-making. The US’s Trust-Based Philanthropy Project provides a valuable guide for this: giving organisations multi-year unrestricted funding and the room to adapt would be the best place to start. In the UK, IVAR’s open and trusting grant-making work builds practical evidence on what this looks like in practice. 

The donors best placed to do good over the next decade are those who take seriously both what is happening in their chosen cause area, and what that means for the way they fund. We don’t know exactly what an AI future holds. But we know enough to start asking better questions now – and to do so regularly, not just at the next strategy review.

About Clare 

Clare Wilkins is the founder of Ampersand Philanthropy, a strategic philanthropy consultancy working with wealthy individuals, families, and the professionals who advise them. She helps clients give with greater clarity, impact and confidence.