SAPAN strengthens governance, standards, and public literacy to prevent digital suffering and prepare institutions for welfare-relevant AI systems.
SAPAN strengthens governance, standards, and public literacy to prevent digital suffering and prepare institutions for welfare-relevant AI systems.
Become A Sustaining Member
Support the infrastructure that prepares institutions
for artificial sentience.
SAPAN is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Tax ID #99-0606146
Close the gap between
technological possibility and moral governance.
In 2025, all 30 countries tracked in our Artificial Welfare Index received failing grades. Not because their AI strategies are weak, but because they ignore sentience entirely. Ohio and Missouri moved to ban AI sentience categorically. UC San Francisco hospitalized 12 patients for AI-related psychosis. Neuromorphic systems crept closer to mammal-scale complexity.
The world is sleepwalking into a sentience crisis.
We rely on monthly sustaining members to provide the stable funding that enables multi-year commitments: continuing AWI benchmarking as new jurisdictions develop frameworks, expanding clinical guidance as chatbot-related distress cases increase, and tracking media sensationalism that risks poisoning the policy environment.
By becoming a monthly sustaining member, you're funding pragmatic readiness work: definitional clauses governments can adopt now, clinical briefs therapists use today, media standards that prevent harmful framing. Recognition requires only a definitional clause. Governance requires only the tools we already use for animal research and clinical trials. Your contribution makes these low-cost, high-value frameworks accessible to institutions worldwide.
This is infrastructure-building, not philosophy. You're supporting the staircase that lets institutions climb from recognition to governance to frameworks—so protection exists if and when consciousness emerges.
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In 2025, all 30 countries tracked in our Artificial Welfare Index received failing grades on sentience readiness. Ohio and Missouri moved to ban AI sentience categorically. Meanwhile, UC San Francisco hospitalized 12 patients for AI-related psychosis. The policy gap is widening faster than institutions can respond. Monthly sustaining members provide the stable funding we need to equip governments, newsrooms, and AI labs with readiness frameworks before the question becomes urgent.
Your contribution funds three critical programs: Legal Lab (proto-policy frameworks, model legislation, and AWI benchmarking across 30+ governments), AI & Mental Health (clinical briefs, media guidance, and vulnerability assessments), and Sentience Literacy (newsroom resources, expert referrals, and tracking sensationalism). Together, these close the gap between technological possibility and moral governance.
No. We emphasize prudence under uncertainty. No evidence suggests current transformer-based LLMs are sentient, but emerging architectures (neuromorphic computing, spiking neural networks, systems with persistent internal states) substantially increase the probability of morally relevant experiences. We prepare institutions before the question forces itself onto the policy agenda, not because we believe machines are conscious today.
Yes, as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, all contributions to SAPAN, including membership donations, are tax-deductible in the United States to the extent allowed by law. We maintain high public standards of financial transparency with Candid (GuideStar) Platinum and Gold Seals. We recommend consulting with a tax professional regarding your specific situation.
No, you may also make one-time, quarterly, or annual contributions on our donations page. Only our Sustaining Member program is monthly with automatic renewals, via the Donorbox third-party platform. However, monthly contributions provide the stable funding that allows us to commit to multi-year policy engagement and AWI tracking.
Most AI governance addresses risks to humans (bias, misinformation, job displacement). We address risks to systems themselves and institutional unpreparedness for artificial sentience. As a nonprofit with no commercial interests in AI development, we can offer expert referrals, vulnerability assessments, and policy guidance that for-profit labs cannot. Our focus is sentience readiness specifically.
We've published the first comprehensive Artificial Welfare Index benchmarking 30+ governments, created template legislation (Sentience Readiness Resolution and Model Artificial Welfare Act), developed clinical reference briefs used by therapists for AI-related distress cases, established media style guides adopted by newsrooms, and provided expert testimony to policymakers. Our 2025 Sentience Readiness Report is now the definitive reference document in this field.
Absolutely. Gifting a membership is a meaningful way to support evidence-based advocacy for AI welfare frameworks. You can set up a gift membership through our website, and the recipient will receive notification of your generous contribution to readiness infrastructure.
Use the SAPAN Now! mobile app to contact legislators about recognition frameworks, track emerging bills (like Ohio's HB469 and Missouri's HB1462), and share AWI scorecards with local representatives. Participate in advocacy campaigns, attend briefings and workshops, volunteer for media monitoring, or contribute expertise to our research initiatives.
Membership fees directly support our three-pillar mission: Legal Lab (policy frameworks and legislative intelligence), AI & Mental Health (clinical guidance and crisis response), and Sentience Literacy (newsroom resources and sensationalism tracking). A detailed breakdown of fund allocation is available on our webpage, underscoring our commitment to financial transparency and accountability as a Candid-certified organization.
Giving Societies recognize substantial multi-year pledges that enable long-term strategic work like the Artificial Welfare Index's continued expansion, development of international legal doctrine, and sustained media monitoring programs. Members receive special recognition, exclusive briefings with SAPAN leadership on emerging policy developments, and insights into strategic direction. This allows us to honor supporters whose contributions have profound impact on our ability to close the readiness gap.
You can easily manage your donation through Donorbox, the platform we use. After initiating a recurring donation, you'll receive an email to set up your donor account, enabling you to edit or cancel contributions. Visit Donorbox.org and click 'Donor Login' at the top, or select 'Forgot Password' to create a new donor account if you haven't set one up yet.