A civil rights lawyer will lead the billionaire eBay founder's philanthropy for more inclusive AI

NEW YORK (AP) — There will be a new leader at billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar's philanthropic group that aims to expand access to the digital revolution's economic opportunities.

Omidyar Network President Michele Jawando takes over as CEO next month, according to a Wednesday announcement from the left-leaning organization that blends charitable grantmaking with for-profit impact investments. A civil rights lawyer and former Google executive who managed the company's public policy partnerships, Jawando will helm one of the best-financed technology organizations looking to loosen Silicon Valley's grip on artificial intelligence's development, deployment and regulation.

“Our focus will be making sure that there is a much more diverse set of views and people and coalitions and voices shaping the moments, the opportunities and the rules for the AI era,” Jawando said.

“I just want people to feel agency and power in this moment,” she added. “I hate the fact that most people feel like this technology is happening to them.”

Philanthropy often lacks the financial heft and political clout of AI companies that are valuated at hundreds of billions of dollars and have secured favorable policies under U.S. President Donald Trump. This week, the social sector has watched with concern as the Trump administration retaliated against Anthropic over the artificial intelligence company's refusal to allow the government unrestricted military use of its technology.

The Anthropic episode underscores Jawando's insistence that a handful of companies shouldn't determine the guardrails for what she called “really powerful super tools.” Omidyar Network recently refined its focus to fill what leaders saw as gaps in philanthropy's engagement with the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, putting together a $30 million generative AI portfolio in recent years.

Acknowledging the “David and Goliath kind of asymmetry" in resources, Jawando said her role is to build bridges across philanthropy that can elevate working people's perspectives.

“The responsible and safe use of AI shouldn’t be just one company’s mantra,” Jawando said. “It’s not that some companies are too responsible and others aren’t. It’s just that we don’t have a public governance framework.”

Outgoing Omidyar Network CEO Mike Kubzansky said philanthropy will always be outspent by big tech companies and acknowledged that the sector isn’t known for strong coordination.

But he highlighted Jawando’s role as co-chair of a philanthropic coalition putting $500 million behind AI that prioritizes the public's interests. Kubzansky said his successor is the one who involved several funders that hadn’t been as active in the AI space, such as the Doris Duke Foundation and the Lumina Foundation.

“She rarely jumps to the oppositional card first,” he said. “She finds new partners for us and she brings people along.”

A self-described bridge builder, Jawando said Omidyar Network will double down on consulting underrepresented communities, influencing state legislatures and supporting research that applies this “marvelous technology” for everyday people's benefit.

That means partnering with advocacy nonprofits such as the Model Alliance, which championed a recently implemented New York State law that requires fashion workers' consent to create digital replicas of their likenesses. The firm aims to empower overlooked populations by supporting leaders such as #BlackTechFutures Research Institute co-founder Fallon Wilson, who is working with HBCUs and African American churches on AI literacy.

Omidyar Network will keep supporting tech regulation advocates despite Trump's executive order curtailing state AI guardrails. As public outcry grows against energy-hungry data centers that are expanding in size and number, Jawando said the network wants to identify models for responsible data centers that consider factors such as carbon neutrality and community engagement. And it funds AI researchers who want to advance health care, for example, not business-to-business services.

“I think we have the people. I think we have the will. I think we have the creativity,” she said. “In a way that, if you only are forced to think about shareholders every three months, you start to lower and really narrow the window of your ambition.”

One nonprofit tech proponent hoped other funders would take inspiration from Omidyar Network’s commitment to AI, reinforced by the announcement of Jawando’s promotion. Fast Forward executive director Shannon Farley, whose accelerator helps nonprofits that apply technological solutions to social problems, said philanthropy stands at an “inflection point” where AI is rapidly accelerating but those most impacted have the fewest protections.

She welcomed Jawando’s collaborative approach. Farley said she hopes the new CEO can galvanize her peers, considering Omidyar Network’s status as one of the earliest “tech for good” investors.

“We’re asking nonprofits to solve 21st-century problems with 20th-century tech,” Farley said. “They can’t do that if funders aren’t understanding AI and backing people with lived experience to solve the problems in front of them.”

The Associated Press receives financial assistance from the Omidyar Network to support coverage of artificial intelligence and its impact on society. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Michele Jawando, the next CEO of the Omidyar Network, poses for a photo at the company's office in Washington, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Moriah Ratner)

Michele Jawando, the next CEO of the Omidyar Network, poses for a photo at the company's office in Washington, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Moriah Ratner)

Michele Jawando, the next CEO of the Omidyar Network, poses for a photo at the company's office in Washington, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Moriah Ratner)

Michele Jawando, the next CEO of the Omidyar Network, poses for a photo at the company's office in Washington, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Moriah Ratner)

Michele Jawando, the next CEO of the Omidyar Network, poses for a photo at the company's office in Washington, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Moriah Ratner)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson sparked one of the NBA's greatest postseason comebacks, a rally from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, and finished with 38 points as New York beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-104 in overtime on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

After a record-setting run through the first two rounds, the Knicks were going nowhere for 40 minutes against the Cavs, trailing 93-71 with 7:52 to play. But Brunson relentlessly attacked James Harden to spark an 18-1 run that made it a ballgame, and he tied it at 101-all on a basket with 19 seconds remaining in regulation.

Before that, Brunson said the message for the Knicks was just to finish strong so they would have momentum for Game 2, even if they lost the opener.

“Just keep fighting,” he said. “Keep chipping away. We’re not going to get it back in one possession.”

The Knicks then opened overtime with a 9-0 run as a delirious crowd in Madison Square Garden danced and screamed in the aisles. The Knicks moved within three wins of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.

Mikal Bridges added 18 points and three Knicks scored 13, including OG Anunoby, who came on late after struggling most of the way in his return after missing two games with a strained right hamstring.

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points for the Cavaliers, who seemed well on their way to a third straight road win before their late collapse. The Knicks outscored them 44-11 after their 93-71 lead.

“We played great basketball tonight for three quarters. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter — they dominated us in the fourth quarter,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said.

The Knicks won their eighth straight game and will host Game 2 on Thursday.

The Knicks had outscored Atlanta and Philadelphia by a combined 194 points, the largest margin ever through a team’s first 10 postseason games. But after not playing since May 10, when they finished their second-round sweep of the 76ers, the Knicks misfired most of the night, looking like the rust hurt more than the rest helped.

They were 4 for 23 on 3-pointers through three quarters and then had a horrible start to the fourth. But a year after coughing up a 14-point lead in the final minutes of regulation and losing to Indiana in OT in Game 1 of the conference finals on their home court, the Knicks found their offense just in time.

“But it was our defense that has always been special in these playoffs and that has carried us in this playoffs, that showed up in the fourth quarter and in overtime,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “It allowed us to be sitting here with a win against a really great team.”

The only bigger fourth-quarter playoff comeback in the last 30 years was when the Clippers rallied from 24 down to beat Memphis in Game 1 in 2012.

“That can’t happen. But it did," Mitchell said. "We play in two days. We can’t sit here and let it kill our momentum, kill what we’ve been doing. It’s not a good loss.”

The Knicks came from 20 points behind three times last year in the postseason. Those were their largest comebacks on record since 1969-70, when they won their first of two NBA titles.

Evan Mobley had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs. Harden also scored 15 points, but was just 1 for 8 on 3-pointers and had more turnovers (six) than field goals (five).

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson, bottom, drives past Cleveland Cavaliers' James Harden during the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Knicks' Og Anunoby, left, fouls Cleveland Cavaliers' Jarrett Allen (31) as he drives to the basket during the first half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden, left, during the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, top right, brings his arm down on New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, left, during the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson (11) moves around the Cleveland Cavaliers defense during the first half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)