Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about artificial intelligence. This decade, it’s likely that machines will likely be able to anything humans can do at a computer – law, mathematics research, taxes (thank god). Handled well, the upsides are immense. Handled poorly, there’s the risk that AI is used by terrorists to create biological weapons, dictators to conduct mass surveillance… or the machine itself may pursue goals in conflict with the existence of humanity.

Our governments have the power to make this technology be used for good. But instead of creating reforms needed for this period in history, they’ve decided to turn a blind eye and take money from Big Tech.

In response, I’ve started a political movement. Our goal is to put powerful artificial intelligence in the hands of the people. We demand that governments of the world:

1. Declare an AI Crisis
2. Democratize power over intelligence through Citizens’ Assemblies
3. Govern AI like an existential threat

You can support the movement by joining the email list, telling a friend, or donating. More on the website.

Sapiens First has basically taken over my life since I left Constellation three months ago. For that reason, I’ll mostly write my experience founding this organization.

Courage

Before this project, the biggest leap I took in my life was moving to Taiwan. I was lucky to have my dear friend Leon with me. Our friends were lining up at high-paying jobs in the Bay, but I felt a contrarian instinct in me. Now, Taiwan feels like home, but at first, it was foreign and isolating being there.

You have to be scared to be brave. I heard that line in a movie.

I’ve been scared a lot while founding Sapiens First. As one example, I started knocking on doors in Berkeley. They say founders should do things that don’t scale. And I thought it would be valuable to learn how non-tech people are thinking about the issue. Before I started, I procrastinated a lot. I went to shower, then shave, then gave myself a haircut! Then I called my friend Dean. Dean is a homie, and he’s knocked on plenty of doors in the past. He told me that only 1/6 people might have a conversation with you. And that helped. Then, I had just three great conversations and was so inspired! It’s amazing what a great conversation will do for your day.

Door knocking is one example of a thing that was scary and now isn’t as much. But there will be many scary things to come.

Self-Belief and 54%

Roger Federer once made an incredible observation: despite being world #1 in tennis for many years, statistically, he only won 54% of points.

He used that to illustrate how important it is to hold your head up and persevere through defeat.

I don’t love the guy, but I do appreciate Sam Altman’s writing on this topic in his post, “How To Be Successful”. Here are some great lines from that essay: The most successful people I know believe in themselves almost to a point of delusion… I remember when Elon Musk took me on a tour of the SpaceX factory many years ago. He talked in detail about manufacturing every part of the rocket, but the thing that sticks in memory was the look of absolute certainty on his face when he talked about sending large rockets to Mars. I left thinking “huh, so that’s the benchmark for what conviction looks like.”… unfortunately, the more ambitious you are, the more the world will try to tear you down.

External validation is like a drug. It is great when you get it, but when it is withdrawn, you are only left with yourself. They say in the start-up world that “selling” is the most important thing you will do. You will sell to users, you will sell to funders, but most importantly, you will “sell” to yourself the morning after a failed pitch.

“Democracy in the age of AI” is actually a very easy pitch. I sometimes hear objections, and sometimes they get to me, like “you’re not the right person to be doing this”, or “it’ll never happen here”, or “what’s the point?”.

To the cynics, and to the part of me that lacks self-belief at times, I recall this epic quote from Barack Obama’s 2004 speech: In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope?… I’m not talking about blind optimism here… I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope.

I feel lucky that my parents, teachers, and friends who have en-couraged me throughout my life. If you’re one of those people, thank you. I say that from the bottom of my heart.

Wisdom

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”

The Serenity Prayer. It was on the wall in my old friend Jack’s house. I have always resonated with the quote.

In founding this organization, I have tried to cultivate equal amounts courage and wisdom. I’ve found that the following has helped:

• Independent thinking. I found that working at a particular organization like Constellation, I was very much stuck in a particular world-view. At Constellation, it was that technical research on “the alignment problem” would solve the problem of AI. Since leaving, I have had the freedom to reflect that at the root of the alignment problem is our political institutions that don’t serve the people. I also feel that institutions entrench power, and that in many such environments, your ability to think independently is restrained by the context that you are in (eg. your boss, teacher, or culture).
• Flexibility. For example, while Sapiens First was initially focused on more institutional pathways to change (like petitions, city council resolutions), I then thought more deeply about history. I realized that most periods of progress have seen peaceful disruptions of the status quo. So we have since pivoted towards something more in that direction. I’m going to quote another billionaire: “Be stubborn on the vision and flexible on the details.”
• Reading broadly. Lately, I have felt grateful for the ability to read. Without reading, it is hard to learn anything beyond what people around you say. And that is rather limiting. So kudos to the people who, hundreds of years ago, fought for public education, pre-school and primary school. Now, that’s real progress. Reading while practicing (eg. reading a book about web design while designing a website) has been especially useful.

Speaking of reading, thank you for reading this letter all the way through. As always, I welcome your reflections, musings, or any news in return. If you are on the fence, please do write a line or two about how you’re doing :).

Love and peace, Rohan