Thanks for having me @tracegallagher @FoxNews!

We’re hiring in SF! Encode cut its teeth in DC. People said AI politics was a bad bet; we made unlikely friends, won the fight to keep states in play, and helped pass the Big 3 of AI laws (CA SB 53, NY RAISE, IL SB 315). It’s time to double up in SF. Pacing the Frontier (pacingthefrontier.com), which we helped organize, was recently signed by 1,378 frontier lab employees and endorsed by both OpenAI and Anthropic. The last time we felt this rush of opportunity was Sacramento in 2024. AI risk has gone from an online culture war to a fact of life. SF is full of people who want to act, lab employees especially, but don’t see a place to plug in. We need someone to help us build the grid. Encode’s lab engagement has been running on adrenaline and personal relationships. That got @_NathanCalvin and me here, but it’s time to level up. Misalignment is getting scary. “Pacing” has real legs now. Researchers are using their voices to influence lab leaders and alert the world. Many of those researchers say that soon, their jobs - and the voice their jobs give them - will be unrecognizable or won’t exist. We want to hire someone who is: (1) Mission-aligned. You want to ensure AI doesn’t cause catastrophe (or kill everyone) and the future is the best it can be (2) Extremely organized, high-functioning, excited to add structure so ad hoc actions compound (3) Pragmatic, able to pivot when crazy things happen (if the last few months are any indication...) (4) Hard to typecast - not because you lack beliefs, but because you see the best in many kinds of people. The role will start with supporting lab engagement and expand. It’ll be insanely fun (we take the work seriously, not ourselves). You’ll visit DC regularly as AI’s political salience takes off and get to know a team that feels like family. If you’re interested, email me by September 4 at [email protected] with the subject line “SF Special Projects” and a few sentences each on (1) a relevant project you’ve owned and (2) what you think Encode SF should do next. If someone you know could be a good fit... I want to meet them!

Just one jolt after another planforai.org

.@PeteButtigieg says it’s time to game plan for an AI economy:

This could be the best or worst time ever to start a career. AI is now your coworker, competitor … and maybe even your replacement. Leaders have been fumbling for words on what’s next. Today, we offer Game Plan, your playbook to prepare for AI. 🧵

Encode, the non-profit I founded, was recently subpoenaed by OpenAI. Here’s where I stand. First, I’m proud of @_NathanCalvin. He represented us with clarity and strength. And I’m grateful for all the support we’ve gotten, publicly and privately. People who vehemently opposed our other work went to bat for us here. Honestly, it was reasonable for OpenAI to have concerns about collusion. Elon - who doesn’t fund or direct Encode - is genuinely against them. And Encode - which has 3 full-time employees - went on to pass SB 53, the nation’s leading AI safety law. Influence comes with scrutiny … and it should! OpenAI could have stopped at asking us about Elon. This was his suit about their restructuring. But they also wanted all our messages about the unrelated SB 53, which they were lobbying against. Some people claim this is standard practice. But a subpoena this broad - targeting a non-profit that filed a public amicus brief and wasn’t a party - is anything but standard. It also was not standard to serve Nathan personally (on top of serving Encode), or to subpoena other critics that weren’t involved in the case. For us, this was taxing. Worrying about OpenAI accessing our texts made basic coordination hard when the stakes for our bill were highest. We fortunately had pro bono counsel, but otherwise, the legal fees could’ve been crushing. Consider how startups get torched by compliance that’s trivial for powerful companies. So maybe this is surprising: I still believe OpenAI wants to be a force for good. I often appreciate their people and work (I literally had GDPVal open when Nathan posted). I know their success is critical to American dominance in AI. And I think OpenAI can get criticized disproportionately, even when competitors move faster with fewer safeguards. It is only because I expected better that I am disappointed. Encode wants to be held to high standards. If you’re building AGI that will transform society, shouldn’t you welcome being held to high standards, too? Encode and OpenAI share the same interest: to ensure AGI benefits humanity. That requires independent voices speaking without fear, and companies hearing good-faith criticism as an opportunity. We remain committed to working with anyone pursuing this vision. That includes OpenAI.