Good morning, Broadsheet readers! 23andMe is reportedly considering splitting the company up, Caitlin Clark closes in on a controversial scoring record, and we meet the woman running Sam Altman’s universal basic income study. Have a restful weekend.
– Open research. Elizabeth Rhodes was finishing up her PhD in social work and political science and looking for jobs in 2016 when she saw a blog post from Sam Altman, then the leader of Y Combinator. He announced his plan to support a study of universal basic income, the system in which people receive unconditional monthly payments.
After seeing the post, Rhodes applied to a position leading the study and became the research director for YC Research, which was renamed OpenResearch after Altman moved to OpenAI. At the time, she knew little about Altman, Y Combinator, or Silicon Valley. Once she got the job, she learned fast.
She ran Altman’s pilot program and now oversees the full universal basic income study. For three years, the study provided 3,000 participants with either $1,000 per month or $50 a month. It recently finished providing cash transfers to recipients in two states and plans to release its first findings later this year.
 OpenResearch director Elizabeth Rhodes. Courtesy of Open Research The organization has remained quiet throughout its research; Rhodes has rarely done interviews. Altman is still chair of OpenResearch but has “given us total independence,” Rhodes says. (She “watched from afar” last year’s OpenAI drama.) OpenResearch is one of many side projects for the OpenAI CEO.
Altman’s interest in universal basic income is related to his work as CEO of OpenAI—if AI eliminates jobs, could guaranteed cash help workers who lose their income? In 2021, Altman said he believed AI could generate enough wealth to pay every U.S. adult $13,500 a year. “He was definitely thinking about future labor market changes—not just what happens if robots take jobs, but also a recognition of the challenges we’re facing today with distribution of resources and opportunities across the population,” Rhodes says.
Rhodes brought a more traditional social work perspective to the research. “We did everything sort of the opposite of ‘move fast,'” she says. “We didn’t move slow for slow’s sake, but thinking through different challenges and ‘what ifs.'” Indeed, the study was sometimes criticized for moving too slowly.
In the years since Altman first expressed an interest in UBI, others have devoted more research to the idea. “At the time, no one was talking about it,” Rhodes says. A recent experiment in Washington, D.C. sent cash payments to new moms. In 2022, a study found that similar payments to moms improved babies’ brain functioning. OpenResearch’s study is one of the largest on this topic (and one of the largest privately funded studies in the U.S.).
When OpenResearch begins sharing the results of its research, it plans to cover study recipients’ time use, mental and physical health, decision-making, crime, politics and social attitudes, and effects on children.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
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- DNA split. 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki announced that the genetic testing company is considering a split after it reported a net loss of $278 million for the fourth quarter of 2023. The proposed split would create two distinct companies: one for 23andMe’s ancestry services and another for its genetic health business. CNBC
- Swiftie bowl. Taylor Swift’s likely attendance at Sunday’s Super Bowl to support boyfriend Travis Kelce is introducing the Swift-crazed sub-economy to the U.S.’s biggest sporting event. Fans are planning Swift-themed watch parties—complete with snacks like Enchanted to Meatball You and Pigs in a Blank-et Space and, of course, friendship bracelets. Wall Street Journal
- Solo Sotomayor. Sonya Sotomayor appeared to be the only Supreme Court justice supportive of states removing former President Donald Trump from 2024 ballots in arguments heard Thursday. The case stems from a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that argued that Trump is disqualified from office because he "engaged in insurrection," which Justice Sotomayor appeared likely to uphold. Fortune
- Record reboot. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is just a few games away from surpassing the official NCAA record for most points scored by a women’s basketball player. Yet another, higher record remains unrecognized. It was set by Kansas star Lynette Woodard in the 1970s and '80s before women’s collegiate sports were a part of the NCAA. Now some coaches want it to become the NCAA’s official tally. Wall Street Journal
- Better late than never. Initiatives in Missouri and Nebraska show that Republican lawmakers at the state level are finally backing efforts to pump more tax money into childcare services. State Rep. Emily O'Brien of North Dakota led one such push, advocating for the state to invest $66 million in childcare after she was forced to bring her two daughters to meetings. Fortune
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Expedia Group named Ariane Gorin as its new CEO. CapitalG hired Jane Alexander and promoted Kelly Barton to vice president. Stash named Jackie Stern chief marketing officer. Bain & Company appointed Mikaela Boyd to lead its Americas financial services practice. Coventure Management promoted Meghan Hillery to vice president.
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M.M.LaFleur relaunches program loaning clothes to female political candidates Glossy
Brittany Howard might make a metal album next Rolling Stone
NPR founding mother Linda Wertheimer is retiring. Read her bittersweet goodbye note NPR
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"I realized that the only way I could be good with that was if I didn’t hide anymore. I’m not going to pretend a part of my personality isn’t loud and political and silly and interested in the Housewives and reality TV."
—Former Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, who resigned in October to create more space for her activism
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