If tech oligarchs block conventional channels for regulating AI, should they be surprised that some activists go to extremes? That doesn't justify the extremism, but it's worth bearing in mind. My piece in @NonzeroNews.bsky.social: www.nonzero.org/p/why-altman...
If you want to understand what radicalizes some AI critics, consider that one of the most influential forums for AI policy "debate" is a tech bro podcast that serves as Pravda for Silicon Valley. My @NonzeroNews.bsky.social piece: www.nonzero.org/p/why-altman...
If you're wondering what fuels anti-AI extremism, maybe look less at doomer rhetoric and more at a landscape where tech oligarchs' super PACs stifle AI regulation and kneecap its supporters. My latest @NonzeroNews.bsky.social piece: www.nonzero.org/p/why-altman...
In the latest @NonzeroNews.bsky.social I argue that if you want to understand what's driving people crazy about AI, look less at doomer rhetoric and more at things like a Silicon Valley Super PAC devoted to squaashing AI regulation. www.nonzero.org/p/why-altman...
We may have just dodged a bullet: Anthropic's Mythos, if released, could have imperiled operating systems and browsers and more. Yet some tech oligarchs say this shows we need no AI regulation! My latest in @NonzeroNews.bsky.social: www.nonzero.org/p/why-altman...
Some tech elites say Anthropic's Mythos could in the wrong hands wreak utter havoc--and also say, 'Trust us, no regulation is needed.' And you wonder why some anti-AI activists go to extremes? My @NonzeroNews.bsky.social piece: www.nonzero.org/p/why-altman...
On the All In podcast, a Silicon Valley investor praises Anthropic for not releasing a dangerous model, then uses that as evidence that regulation isn't needed. In the latest @NonZeroNews.bsky.social I examine his logic. www.nonzero.org/p/why-altman...
After an attack on Altman's home, some blamed doomer rhetoric. In @NonzeroNews.bsky.social I nominate another radicalizing influence: Watching rich, powerful men make facile, self-serving arguments against AI regulation—and prevail. www.nonzero.org/p/why-altman...
Iran and the Demise of US Hegemony | Robert Wright and American Prestige hosts @dwdavison.bsky.social and @dbessner.bsky.social discuss whether Trump and Iran can reach a peace deal, who's winning the Hormuz blockade duel, and what it all means for America’s global standing.
After an attack on Altman's home, some blamed doomer rhetoric. In
@nonzeronews.bsky.social I nominate another radicalizing influence: Watching rich, powerful men make facile, self-serving arguments against AI regulation—and prevail. www.nonzero.org/p/why-altman...
Can AI Stop Wars? | @robertwrighter.bsky.social and Nikita Petrov discuss whether AI could help resolve international conflicts as the world edges toward catastrophe. Plus: Trump's "act of war" in the Strait of Hormuz, the AI model so dangerous Anthropic delayed its release, and more.
Anthropic's Mythos hasn't brought a catastrophe—yet. That makes it the closest thing we've had to a "near miss" that could wake the world up to the need for international AI governance. My piece in @nonzeronews.bsky.social:
We're letting primitive and malicious creatures like Trump and Netanyahu dominate the stage while issues of critical importance to the whole planet languish in obscurity. My latest in @nonzeronews.bsky.social:
Can a war be so absurd it actually changes how people think about war? That's my hope for this one, and I lay out the case in @nonzeronews.bsky.social.
There's a reason Iran hawks call Iranian leaders "the mullahs"—-to frame them as zealots who must be crushed rather than rational actors who can be dealt with. This is part of a larger problem, I argue in my latest NonZero Newsletter.
The skill that could do the most to prevent wars (including the current one) is a skill we keep stigmatizing: seeing things from the adversary's point of view. My latest @nonzeronews.bsky.social piece:
Game theorists don't consider war a zero-sum game, because it often winds up being lose-lose. In the latest NonZero Newsletter I explore why wars keep happening anyway—and what that tells us about how to reduce their frequency.
If war is so often lose-lose for the nations involved, why does it keep happening? Because it's often win-lose, or even win-win, for the leaders on the two sides. I discuss this problem in the latest NonZero Newsletter: www.nonzero.org/p/war-isnt-a...
Does Trump really not grasp that (1) There's 0% chance Iran will open the strait in response to this threat; (2) There's 100% chance that if he follows through on his threat Iran will try to escalate along the same dimension? This man is getting scarier and scarier.
I taped this conversation with Daniel Levy shortly before Israel's assassination of Larijani, but the assassination is consistent with Daniel's assessment of Israel's goals. You can watch here or listen on the NonZero Podcast.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdxF...
It's true that Netanyahu's goal of regime collapse (which meanwhile makes the regime more radical, less open to diplomacy) is at odds with Trump's interests (like finding an offramp). It's also true that Trump is too stupid to grasp this.
"Israel believes its security is achieved by dominating the region... For it to have total security, everyone else has to have total insecurity." I explore the implications of that quote from
@quincyinst.bsky.social's @tparsi.bsky.social here:
I guess it’s too much to hope that people will read my latest
@nonzeronews.bsky.social piece before denouncing it on the basis of its title. Oh well…
Iran's War for a New Middle East Order | Hooman Majd, author of the memoir Minister Without Portfolio, joins
@robertwrighter.bsky.social to discuss Iran’s strategic goals, the prospects for regime survival, and the US's missed opportunities for entente with Iran.
Had a great conversation with @peterbeinart.bsky.social about something some people say you shouldn't talk about: the possibility that Israel's policies (such as joining with the US in attacking Iran) could intensify antisemitism.
Anthropic's Claude helped select hundreds of targets for the opening wave of Iran strikes. There's a good chance that one of them was the elementary school where more than 100 girls died. My latest @nonzeronews.bsky.social piece:
Donald Trump is the reason they're dead, period. A completely unprovoked and unnecessary war launched by a narcissist who thinks the world is his own personal video game.
All the big AI firms--OpenAI, Google, xAI, Anthropic--are fine with their tech being used in wars that flagrantly violate the UN Charter, like Venezuela and now Iran. I discuss this in the context of the Amodei-Hegseth standoff in this week's NonZero Newsletter.
I suspect Trump thought killing Khamenei would be a punctuation mark that would let him declare victory and disengage (like the June bombings of nuclear facilities). I also suspect it's going to have the opposite effect. It can't be overemphasized that Trump is dumb as a brick.
My conversation with Middle East expert Joshua Landis deepened my understanding of the grim absurdity of the predicament Trump has stumbled into re Iran.