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A new policy brief from the AI Disclosures Project, “Protocols and Power” by Isobel Moure, Tim O’Reilly, and Ilan Strauss, argues that as AI models become commodities, tech giants are racing to lock in users by hoarding their data. Open protocols, backed by open APIs, can facilitate broad data sharing and healthier AI markets. This paper frames Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) as a potentially critical market-shaping device that can decentralize power through unbundling context. 

The Social Science Research Council is partnering with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to host a Research Rescue Fund that will provide financial support for societally valuable economics research projects that have been approved for NSF funding but that are not currently receiving that funding. Review of applications to the fund will be conducted by an advisory panel of Americans drawn from different walks of life, including business and public service, and from different geographic regions of the US. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis, as funds permit.

We are so grateful to announce that the Social Science Research Council has not only met but also has exceeded its ambitious $100M Centennial Campaign goal. Since the Campaign’s public launch in January of 2023, the Council’s Centennial year, we have raised $101,349,064 in program and operating support for the Council’s work. The robust philanthropic support for the social and behavioral sciences will be critical for the research community in the years to come.