The Anthropic board chose these initial Trustees after a year-long search and interview process to surface individuals who exhibit thoughtfulness, strong character, and a deep understanding of the risks, benefits, and trajectory of AI and its impacts on society. Trustees serve one-year terms and future Trustees will be elected by a vote of the Trustees.
I am curious about the decision for one-year terms. Given that the board chooses its own successors, and no-one on the board is full-time, I worry that the search for successors will end up occupying a huge fraction of their time. Also, non-overlapping terms might mean a loss of institutional memory. Did you consider a staggered setup?
One year is actually the typical term length for board-style positions, but because members can be re-elected their tenure is often much longer. In this specific case of course it’s now up to the trustees!
Thanks very much for sharing this!
I am curious about the decision for one-year terms. Given that the board chooses its own successors, and no-one on the board is full-time, I worry that the search for successors will end up occupying a huge fraction of their time. Also, non-overlapping terms might mean a loss of institutional memory. Did you consider a staggered setup?
An Anthropic staff member says:
Thanks for the explanation!