Robert Wright

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.

Dario Amodei isn't the hero we need Spunk alone isn't enough. Plus: Graphs of the week.

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.

“Winning the AI race” could be bad for the world Plus: Misleading graphs of the week

Silicon Valley is full of warnings about how bad life on Earth will be if a country like China wins the AI race. In the latest
@nonzeronews.bsky.social, I argue that life could be bad if a country like America wins it.

“Winning the AI race” could be bad for the world Plus: Misleading graphs of the week

Many tech titans have managed to reconcile grave doubts about where AI is heading with a firm commitment to speeding up the journey. Not sure I get the logic. My latest
@nonzeronews.bsky.social:

“Winning the AI race” could be bad for the world Plus: Misleading graphs of the week

Eric Schmidt says the US needs 92 gigawatts of new power capacity pronto so we can "win" the AI race. In the latest
@nonzeronews.bsky.social, I offer new reasons for thinking this headlong rush into the unknown is a bad idea.

YouTube video by Nonzero Is Anthropic Misanthropic? | Robert Wright & Holly Elmore

Really enjoyed talking to Holly Elmore (@ilex-ulmus.bsky.social), executive director of @pauseaius.bsky.social, about why she thinks the AI race is so dangerous and what she's trying to do about it. Watch here or listen on the @nonzeronews.bsky.social podcast.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amc8...

I'm trying to bring enlightenment to Grok. It's taken some work, but I'm making progress.

Trump + AI = ? The case for hope. (Plus: graphs of the week)

In the latest @nonzeronews.bsky.social I argue that, however ironic this sounds (even to me!), Trump could, under the right political circumstances, wind up exerting a constructive influence on the unfolding of the AI revolution.

Trump + AI = ? The case for hope. (Plus: graphs of the week)

Last year a DC think tank director said to me: "I can't believe we're getting Trump and AI at the same time." I share her sentiments, but as I argue in the latest @nonzeronews.bsky.social, there are circumstances under which Trump could wind up playing a constructive role in AI policy.

Is there a realistic scenario in which Trump winds up exerting a stabilizing influence on the unfolding AI revolution, however ironic that might seem? In the latest NonZero Newsletter I argue that there is:

In the latest NonZero Newsletter I argue that Trump could wind up exerting a constructive influence on the unfolding of the AI revolution. (I wouldn’t bet on it, but there’s a non-crazy scenario where it happens!)

YouTube video by Nonzero Agency, AI, and the MAGA Impulse | Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov

Agency, AI, and the MAGA Impulse | Nikita Petrov argues MAGA and similar movements are collective responses to a felt lack of agency. @robertwrighter.bsky.social warns AI is about to make that feeling universal.

YouTube video by Nonzero Is the Singularity Near? | Robert Wright & Timothy B. Lee

Really enjoyed talking to @binarybits.bsky.social, publisher of the Understanding AI newsletter, about whether AI advance is indeed accelerating, as many say--and if so, by how much. You can watch here or listen on @nonzeronews.bsky.social.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgux...

In the latest NonZero Newsletter, I look at seemingly unrelated stories—including Moltbook, Nasdaq turbulence, and WaPo's mass layoffs—that show how agentic AI is starting to reshape the world. 
www.nonzero.org/p/the-ai-tre...

The AI Tremors Are Real Plus: America's tribal divides on ICE and China

There's a palpable sense within the AI community that things are speeding up. And many in the community--not just safety hawks--are worried that the public doesn't understand how dramatic the impact will be. In the latest NonZero Newsletter I look at some recent evidence of large impending impact.

Ishaan's WorldView was the rarest thing in MSM: a column that consistently illuminates the perspectives of people outside of America.

YouTube video by Nonzero The Meaning of Moltbook | Robert Wright & Paul Bloom

My (so-called) friend @paulbloomatyale.bsky.social perpetrated a cruel hoax on me at the beginning of this conversation. But I forgave him and we proceeded to get to the bottom of both the Epstein thing and the Moltbook thing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=18ej...

YouTube video by Nonzero The Grand Unified Theory of MAGA | Robert Wright & Nikita Petrov

The Grand Unified Theory of MAGA |
@robertwrighter.bsky.social and Nikita Petrov discuss whether MAGA can be seen as a coherent global phenomenon. Plus: The paradox of international nationalism; Burkean conservatism vs. Silicon Valley libertarianism; and the crumbling rules-based order.

My latest piece in @nonzeronews.bsky.social. Just looking at that picture kind of cheers you up, doesn't it?

YouTube video by Nonzero The Case Against AI | Robert Wright, Emily Bender, and Alex Hanna

I enjoyed trying to convince the coiner of the term "stochastic parrots" that this isn't an apt label for LLMs. You can watch here or listen on the @nonzeronews.bsky.social podcast. I think you'll agree that I was fighting an uphill battle.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwfS...

Which is worse: Someone with evil principles, or someone with no principles at all?

@robertwrighter.bsky.social, @dwdavison.bsky.social, and @dbessner.bsky.social discuss:

Which AI Titan should you root for? Plus: Graph of the week and Quote of the week (with searing commentary)

"If the various risks and downsides of AI are indeed going to get bigger over the next few years, then it matters all the more which of the big makers of “frontier models” is in the lead." @robertwrighter.bsky.social 

In case you’ve ever wondered how you can engineer a sudden drop in your popularity among people who live in countries that belong to NATO, the answer is now in: Either invade Ukraine or elect Donald Trump as your president.

Full newsletter: www.nonzero.org/p/which-ai-t...

Which AI Titan should you root for? Plus: Graph of the week and Quote of the week (with searing commentary)

NEW: One CEO wants an international CERN equivalent for AI; another wants "robust military superiority" for the West.

If the AI race becomes 'winner-take-all,' who should we root for?

YouTube video by Nonzero AI After Us: The "Succession" Scenario | Robert Wright & Dan Faggella

Really enjoyed my conversation with Dan Faggella. Some people think the AI succession scenario is completely crazy. I wish I agreed, but I don't.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTCT...

Had a great chat with OG podcaster Mike Pesca about how the digital ground keeps shifting beneath the feet of podcasters, substackers, and other indie media types. You can watch here or listen on the NonZero podcast.

Since the day Renee Good was killed, Trump's approval rating has gone from a net negative of 8.3 to a net negative of 11.4 in the Real Clear Politics aggregate of polls. I hope somebody points this out to him.

YouTube video by Nonzero The Minneapolis Shooting Rorschach Test | Robert Wright & Paul Bloom

The Minneapolis Shooting Rorschach Test |
@robertwrighter.bsky.social and @paulbloomatyale.bsky.social
discuss the killing of Renee Good—and what it says about the state of the nation.

Plus: Trump & Hitler compared (carefully); Elon & a madman compared (less so); Should professors fear AI?