Going Critical
Fast Takeoff for this Blog?
This is a blog about the intersection of technology and law with change and choice.
Societally, how can we make meaningful choices around technological change? Personally, how, where, and when can I choose to change?
To be precise, a lot of my writing here will focus on advanced AI (elsewhere also called ‘transformative AI’ or, sometimes, ‘AGI’, YMMV), its possible and likely trajectories, societal implications, and governance. Some of this will draw on my decade or so of undertaking academic & policy research on these topics, drawing on the fields of technology law, international law & international relations, and lots and lots of historical case studies. But beyond that, I aim to cover lots of other topics and ideas that hold my passion, from history to personal agency, from fiction to parenting, and more (see below).
I have been meaning to start writing a blog for many years, but between a couple large book projects, childcare, and most of all a level of self-scrutiny, I never quite got around to it. Recently, I’ve made a commitment to friends to see this through (thanks GL, JW, LT), and I’m aiming to stick to that.
Why I’ll Write
I’m writing this blog primarily for myself: as a means of expression, a means of exercise, a means of (self)elicitation, and a means of exploration.
By expression, I mean: to record my thinking on both professional topics and personal puzzles in a more public and accessible manner, for whoever finds it of use. Personally, I have loved the times when I’ve stumbled upon someone’s personal blog, and found it to contain some of the great treasures of the internet: incisive, beautiful, urgent writing on any of a million topics. I’d love to pay it forward.
By exercise, I mean: to get in a habit of regularly writing up my ideas in a more modular and timely fashion, and make them part of the debate. Productivity per se isn’t my problem–I’ve written plenty, although primarily for slow, long academic projects. More pointedly, even when I’ve managed it, writing has often been a (subjectively) painful process that happens in bursts. I’d like to exercise less painful ways of regular writing. This blog is one such.
By (self)ellicitation, I mean: a desire to unblock myself on a bunch of salient material and topics, and make them part of public debates I care about. In the last 3-4 years, I have written over 600,000 words on topics around advanced AI (its trajectories of development; its stakes; its international regulation); however, while some of this material is out, much of it is still making its way through various academic publishing processes. That leaves me with around 50,000 words of material on historical and comparative perspectives on the AI revolution, which my editors had me cut from my first book. Some of those points have been made since; others have not, and I’d like to ensure this doesn’t linger on the shelf indefinitely.
By exploration, I mean: to help me think things through by writing (cf. Guzey, Dynomight ); to play with new ideas with lightness; and to get in touch with others thinking about these issues (Karlsson).
Possible Posts
I’m writing primarily for myself, but this blog may also be of interest to you. Some themes that I may (or may not) explore in the coming weeks and months include:
thoughts on the epistemology of the AI debate: different lines and standards of evidence in recent debates over the AI revolution, especially as they relate to the use (and abuse) of historical comparisons
the ‘God of the Gaps’ challenge in debates over AI capabilities
an objectively correct way to go about defining ‘AI’, especially in the context of AI regulation
notes on theories of change in the advanced AI governance
how I became a Large Language Model: a brief guide to how I organize my literature research and management workflow
book reviews
parenting thoughts
fun anecdotes about my 3-year old
A post titled Counter-singularity
lists of lists! Roundups of roundups!
a critical book (pre)view on my own book
You can expect articles … I’ll aim for every few weeks.
As brief aside: why the name? Mostly I just like puns. But let’s reflect some more on it: am I very critical, in life or in this blog? In fact, I believe I am a pretty agreeable person. I’m also pretty self-critical, which has often stopped me from sharing or publishing material before I have rigorously and exhaustively checked it, or if I have any doubts over whether it is of interest to others. I also would like to cultivate a habit of more engaged and direct (constructive) criticism with others in the AI governance space–something that isn’t always well served by the extremely slow pace of academic publishing, especially in a field that moves as fast as AI.
In that sense, ‘Critical Maas’ is aspirational: about me becoming a better (fair, more engaged) critic of myself and others.
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