Exploring AI and classical liberalism

I spent most of my career doing state and local policy research, allowing me to observe the inner workings of government up close. The rest of my career has been in educating young people in economics, policy, and political theory, which helped me learn to tell compelling stories to non-specialist audiences. Finally, I’ve always been passionate about science and technology, seeking to learn as much as I can.

Safely navigating transformative AI

After getting nerd sniped by machine learning, I started to realize that society was on the brink of transformation, and the result could be abundance and flourishing, or it could be catastrophic. In 2017 I left my role in research engineering to focus on positively shaping the trajectory of AI.

I currently lead the Policy Frontiers team at OpenAI, which aims to anticipate neglected but important AI policy issues, such as the governance of agentic systems, the intersection of AI and epistemics, and the ethics of digital minds. Through this program I hope to explore topics like these to help us navigate the radical changes we will face due to AI.

Biotech deep-dives

I’m a “science generalist” — math PhD, worked at various startups that use AI/ML for different applications (drug discovery, self-driving vehicles, semiconductor manufacturing) and I’ve been blogging about science/tech topics for a general audience for many years.

I’m interested in “big” speculative technological ambitions — longevity, human enhancement, etc, the stuff on Francis Bacon’s wishlist — and making clear-headed assessments of where we are now and what we’d need to do to get to the “big” goals.

Dynomight is a blog about statistics, science, DIY, health, lists, philosophy, aspartame, and air purifiers.

Building a zero-carbon energy system

I have a background in consulting, primarily in energy & natural resources (think: electric utilities, gold mines, oil & gas pipelines). This has given me a visceral appreciation for the wondrous complexity of our built civilization and the industrial processes that underpin it, but also the many opportunities that exist to further improve.

I’m currently focused on the ongoing, could-be-faster shift to a zero-carbon energy system that is safe, reliable, and affordable. We sit at a unique moment on the potential cusp of energy abundance, and I’m excited to play my part in that.

The future is urban

Jeff Fong is a writer, technologist and housing activist. He writes about cities, technology, and the future at Urban Proxima, is a longtime contributor to Market Urbanism, and has been featured in publications like Caos Planejado and Progress and Poverty.

Professionally, Jeff was an early-stage employee at companies like Lyft and Postmates, where he worked on the problem of how to use software to move goods and people around a city safely.

Politically, he spends his activism mana serving on the board of YIMBY Action (a grassroots activist organization pushing the controversial idea that houses are good and we should have more of them).

Researcher on global development and progress

I am interested in a progress studies for the developing world. Policy for a better world should not be limited to the US and Europe; I aim to write about innovation and policy in the rest of the world as well.

I am currently a research fellow at Open Philanthropy on the global health & well-being cause prioritization team. My work generally involves investigating possible new cause areas where Open Philanthropy may make grants in the future.

My work has been published in Works in Progress, Asterisk Magazine, and The Washington Post.

Reinvigorating European Progress

I am a German medical doctor and clinical neuroscientist pursuing a career in science policy and technology governance. Throughout my academic journey, I’ve always been passionate about using scientific rigor to understand public policy issues and their political interface. In particular, I am interested in applying a progress-driven perspective to a European context. My goal is to investigate how Germany and the broader European Union can become more economically, scientifically, and technologically dynamic (again). In the process, I aim to identify key obstacles and opportunities and explore effective policy solutions.

Tracking the global industrial contest

I write a/symmetric, a weekly newsletter on the global industrial contest, where production is power and competition is (often) asymmetric. As a journalist and researcher covering industrial strategies, my writing is informed by open-source research on Chinese industrial programs and technological capabilities. Previously, I was a reporter at Quartz, covering the Hong Kong protests and China’s ensuing crackdown.

Climate Technologist

Ben writes words and pictures about climate tech.

He studied engineering at Cambridge, and works on decarbonising the grid at Axle Energy.

Human thriving in a machine economy

My professional background is in risk management, foresight, and technology policy. From 2022 to 2024 I have worked as an insights specialist for the Global Risks team of the World Economic Forum and managed the Global Future Council on Complex Risks. Before that, I was a senior researcher in the Risk and Resilience team of the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich.

I am a “Swiss army knife”-type of researcher comfortable working on fuzzy, open-ended questions at the intersection of domains. There are many aspects, models, and analogies of the long-term transition to a machine-dominated economy and society that are still underexplored (or only explored in silos), and I will contribute research and ideas to ensure that this transition will expand human flourishing.

Advancing material progress

I am a builder at heart. Previously, I worked as a mechanical design engineer at Lutron, brought chips to market for Intel, crafted the story for Intel Custom Foundry, and built the product marketing function at Carbon, an advanced manufacturing startup. My career is about progress in the micro: how do you make something better, faster, and cheaper than what exists?

Silicon manufacturing is now in the national consciousness, and it is a bellwether for many industries and issues. Despite silicon’s marvels, it is housing, healthcare, and education that are the most pervasive issues—material issues requiring material progress. Like advanced manufacturing, these material issues are complicated through geopolitics, regulatory policy, and environmental concerns. Through my research and writing about these issues, I hope to educate, inspire, and galvanize the will of the free people of the world to make tomorrow better than today, forever.

Clear-headed thinking about AI welfare

Rob Long is the co-founder of a new organization that will evaluate AI systems for consciousness, sentience, and agency. He has been thinking about these issues since doing a PhD in philosophy, and has recently been advising AI labs on them. We need much clearer scientific understanding of these phenomena – and much better discourse about them – as we move towards a world in which sophisticated AI systems will deserve, or seem to deserve, protections and rights. Rob will write about how we can advance our philosophical and scientific theories of these issues, using tools from philosophy, neuroscience, and AI.

Space Industrialization for Earth

I grew up thinking that humans would be living and working in space in my lifetime, and I watched pessimistically as little progress was made. I remember watching the first time SpaceX launched and landed a rocket, and thinking that creating amazing futures might still be possible, but required the bold work of individuals pushing human progress forward.

Over the past few years, I have researched the commercial space station landscape and great power competition between the United States and China, in regard to space infrastructure. I aim to write about the potentials of in-space manufacturing, bottlenecks in manufacturing and industrial policy, and the economic forces of space settlement.

Driving progress in biotechnology

I’m a founder of Asimov Press, a publishing venture that explains how science and technology improves human and animal flourishing. I’m also Head of Creative at Asimov, a biotechnology company in Boston advancing the intelligent and rational design of living cells.

I studied biochemistry at university and spent four years investigating therapies for diabetes and heart failure in mice. During a masters degree, I invented CRISPR gene-editing tools and, after, pursued a bioengineering Ph.D. at Caltech before dropping out and going to science journalism school in New York. After a year working as a data journalist, I moved to Boston, where I helped design the first undergraduate program for genetic engineering at MIT. I believe that biotechnology is the single most important field for this century of progress, but is vastly under-covered in media relative to its impacts.

Innovating in incentive structures

Duncan is an economics student at Cambridge and a Research Associate at the Adam Smith Institute. His prior research has focused on mechanism design – how to design structures that align incentives by default – and applying this to provide the first estimates in a general equilibrium model of the cost of housing restrictions for the UK, estimates of revenue from visa auctions and paying Russian soldiers to defect. He’ll be exploring modelling further politically tractable policy reforms on housing, speculating about the uses of much more abundant energy and quantifying the degree of technological path dependency.

Industrial policy with American characteristics

I’m the economics editor of City Journal and an adjunct fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute. Previously I was deputy director of policy at the Institute for Energy Research. For the Roots of Progress Blog-Building Intensive Fellowship, I’ll focus on chip manufacturing, a topic that brings together my interests in industry, energy, and globalization.

Where revolutionary science comes from

The progress studies community piqued my interest while I was working on energy policy and ecomodernism at the Breakthrough Institute. My interest has evolved into a fascination with how scientific discovery and technological revolution are often preceded by ambiguous anomalies. Learning how to identify and constructively engage those anomalies can stimulate groundbreaking scientific progress. I am currently pursuing my PhD in physics at the University of Cambridge, where I work on advanced materials for energy applications. I am also an affiliated researcher with the Quantum Energy Science group at MIT, where we work on accelerating nuclear reactions using quantum physics principles.

Championing innovative mobility

I have been interested in innovation in transportation for my entire career. I started out working on transport funding and policy for the government of Ontario, and later planned a new rapid-transit line for the city of Mississauga; this experience taught me the value of good transport for cities.

My later experience at Sidewalk Labs (the Alphabet smart-city firm), developing mobility systems for a proposed “city of the future”, helped me become aware early of the transformative potential of driving automation.

In this program, I’ll explore how mobility innovation can address climate change, improve everyone’s quality of life, and reshape cities for the better.

Positive-Sum Environmentalist

I began my career as a wildlife biologist breeding and releasing endangered species back to the wild, but I quickly learned that I didn’t want to keep a few species from teetering into extinction. I wanted to keep them from approaching that point in the first place. Since then, I’ve spent my career implementing and investing in strategies that allow both humans and nature to thrive together, driven by a belief that technological, economic, and human progress are crucial ingredients of environmental protection.

Making Sense of AI

I’ve been technical founder at eight software startups, one of which became Google Docs. The day GPT-4 was announced, I fell down the AI rabbit hole. I’m now working on a nonprofit initiative with two paired goals. First, to facilitate productive discussions about AI, its trajectory, and potential impact. Second, to translate these discussions into high-quality, accessible explainers for policymakers and others.

Thinking frameworks for Fusion Energy

As the Media and Policy lead for a nuclear fusion startup, I manage and strategize the engagement with media and public stakeholders. My role involves setting up industrial policies, public support, and regulatory frameworks for advancing fusion technology. I work closely with government agencies, policymakers, and regulatory bodies to ensure compliance and to promote policies that facilitate the growth of the nuclear fusion industry. I analyze the risk profiles associated with both public and private funding for R&D.

Navigating the Frontiers of AI

I have spent most of my career working in AI and machine learning. Over time, I became increasingly interested in the social, ethical, and philosophical implications of AI—both its potential to help solve humanity’s greatest challenges and its risks if not developed thoughtfully. In this program, I will explore topics around AI safety and alignment, as well as how AI impacts our society.

Biotech abundance enjoyer

I am a Genomics PhD student who has taken a keen interest in biotech innovation throughout my studies. This included interning as a biotech analyst for early-stage VC firms. I have become particularly interested in reproductive technologies, since I believe this has traditionally been an ignored topic and also because I think advancements in this area are key to achieving the liberation of women from the constraints of their biology. I am also interested in the general philosophy of progress and how we can foster a culture that’s oriented towards personal and general societal progress.

Advocate for radical construction methods

My professional background has primarily revolved around corporate strategy and market intelligence in the engineering/construction sector working for firms who specialize in designing and building large energy and power infrastructure projects. I have become fascinated about why we seemingly can’t build these projects well in the U.S. and have written about this and other topics as a correspondent for Palladium Magazine.

Fostering progress by understanding its enemies.

I’ve been fascinated by human progress ever since I first learned about the yawning gap between the way we think the world is, and the way it actually is (Hans Rosling’s ‘Ignorance Project’). When I first heard about the amazing achievements of humanity over the past 200 years, I was (pleasantly) shocked. Why didn’t anyone ever tell me this? Progress is something precious, recent and fragile, and it does not happen of its own accord. To facilitate further progress, we need to believe that progress is possible. My previous academic work deals with the pitfalls and foibles of human reason, and I think this will be useful for progress studies. Presenting people with beautiful facts and figures will not be sufficient. We need to understand where pessimism, cynicism and catastrophism are coming from.

We can have it all

Early in his education, Malcolm noticed a contradiction; we constantly hear about everything that’s wrong with the world, but most evidence shows things are getting better. After graduating from college, he began working for Human Progress, an organization dedicated to publicizing long-term improvements in human well-being. Malcolm is currently focused on countering the narrative that modern civilization is at odds with the rest of life on Earth, an idea he believes could jeopardize humanity’s future.

Illuminating invisible infrastructure

Hi everyone, I’m Jeremy! I studied physics to sharpen my mathematical toolbox and to understand how the world works. This same curiosity brought me to progress studies. During the program, I’ll explore two topics: how we improved at weather and climate forecasting, and the invisible infrastructure enabling our daily lives. These topics matter because we rely on them every day in both our lives and as a civilization, yet making progress on them required humans working purposefully at the forefront of science and technology. I want to tell those stories.

Thinking about power laws

Grant grew up in a small town outside of Rochester, NY. There he developed a deep appreciation for nature, community and friendship, and the internet. Although Grant has been posting online since he was in his early teens, his formal writing career accelerated when he published his book, Lead The Future: Strategies and Systems for Emerging Leaders. His current research and writing interests are focused on energy abundance, local leadership, and the social implications of new technologies. Grant is a Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity.

Utopian thinker

Elle Griffin writes The Elysian, a weekly newsletter thinking through a better future (Mondays) and utopian fiction bringing it to life (Fridays). She is currently studying 2000+ years of utopian thought and is exploring how we can better capitalism, democracy, and the systems that support humanity.

Advocating for reliable energy production

Paige’s main interests are in the way that energy and technology can come together to make people’s lives better, her work as a Policy Analyst at the Institute for Energy Research focuses on the essentiality of reliable power for industry and private life, with a focus on the role of nuclear power in solving power provision problems as well as the technological developments that decades of space exploration have unlocked.

She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from American University, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Idaho, and a very full bookshelf.

Drought is a Policy Choice

Laura has been interested in water abundance ever since moving to drought-stricken Los Angeles. After digging deeper, she came to an alarming realization: California has been unable to increase water capacity for 40+ years, despite a ~70% increase in population. Her professional background in writing started 7 years ago as a freelance editor. Now, she writes a blog focused on California’s water supply issues, what caused them, and what cultural and policy changes are required to restore progress in the west.

Turning confusion into clarity in healthcare

Tina is a professor of economics who has been researching how healthcare markets work (or don’t work!) for over 15 years. Her research focuses on improving healthcare by analyzing the efficiency of markets providing care, information’s impact on patient and provider choices, and how policy impacts health outcomes both regionally and nationally. While delving deeply into policy, regulation, and data, she felt a great need to make economic insights more accessible to those actually working in healthcare. Her goal is to be a positive, constructive, and maybe even humorous voice to educate healthcare decision-makers on economic fundamentals and improve outcomes by connecting policies to the bigger picture.

Radical reimagination of what is possible in science & technology

I’ve been interested in radical technological change throughout my life. This led me to become a research scientist at MIT, where I work on ways to decouple nuclear energy from radioactivity and also on ways in which policy can promote radical innovation. To better understand drivers that underlie radical innovation I have also dug into the history, philosophy, and sociology of science. Another interest of mine is the role that quantum principles play in living organisms and the human brain. I was born and raised in Germany but have lived most of my adult life in China and the US. Across my twelve years at MIT, I have worked for or obtained degrees from six departments: engineering systems, nuclear engineering, electrical engineering, materials science, data science, and political science. I am bilingual in German and English and fluent in Chinese.

Figuring out our potentially wild future

I have an effective altruism background, and I’ve researched and written about existential risks, space governance, and pandemics — mostly while at Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute. I also co-host a podcast where I speak to experts on AI, law, biosecurity, and more. I’m excited to learn and write about new ideas that matter for making (sustainable) progress.

Energy Abundance Advocate

Jennifer grew up surrounded by nature in northern Utah. She has always been fascinated by humans’ relationship with nature and with how we harness natural resources to improve and transform our lives. She has a degree in Economics which influences how she approaches research problems—always asking what the tradeoffs are and whether a given policy actually results in the intended outcome. During the workshop, she wants to write about a pro-human, pro-growth vision for the future and the role that energy plays in progress.

Researching how and why “place” matters

I’m a researcher at a U.S. think tank that is primarily concerned with place-based policy and all the ingredients that go into successful localized clusters of talent, investment, and creation. Given how rare and how important they are, I’m interested in exploring the kinds of policies that make such clusters more likely to grow and thrive.

Advocate for Livable Cities

Ryan has been in love with cities since childhood and has lived in several, including New York, Boston, San Francisco, London, Madrid, Tokyo, and now Austin. While he has written professionally as an equity research analyst and elsewhere on a range of political and cultural topics, his experience building and managing Montessori schools in New York and San Francisco galvanized his interest in urbanism and local politics. In Austin, he sits on the Austin Monitor’s Strategic Advisory Council and the board of AURA, Austin’s grassroots urbanist organization, and has been active in the local and state housing reform movement.

“Explaining Space, Biotech and AI”

I started as a battery chemist at Case Western, working at a battery informatics and a cement startup before I came to Stanford. Here, I fell in love with space and biotech, which led to me almost dropping out to become a research engineer at Retro Biosciences. My aim with this program is to better understand and communicate technical and cultural topics in space, AI, and biotech. These fields are not only incredibly exciting but are vital to a future of abundance and wonder if done right.

Shifting the ethics, policy, and philosophy of life extension

Raiany spends most of her time thinking about how converging technologies will transform governments and human nature in the coming decades.

She’s particularly interested in why secular humans narrate aging as a net-positive, teleological phenomenon—and in the negative effects of this narrative on economies and people. She has written for outlets including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and ABC, and is currently working on a book aimed at shifting the ethics, policy, and philosophy of life extension.

In short, Raiany likes to tell stories about the stories humans like to tell themselves on the value of aging and death, and on the nature of progress.

Science of Science; Progress on Progress

I started writing online in college, but I grew up surrounded by economists and bloggers so debating and discussing ideas has always been a big part of my life. I got interested in progress through two observations. First is what Diedre McCluskey calls “The Great Fact:” The immense growth of humanity since the industrial revolution. Second is “The Great Stagnation:” Poor policy choices have slowed growth, but that means better ones can have a huge compounding impact. Progress is imperative but not inexorable.

I am currently researching meta-science at Dartmouth. Science is at the heart of progress, but our systems for producing and evaluating it are rudimentary. I am planning to write more about the past, present, and future of science.

Investigating life science innovation

Alex is interested in using writing as a tool to explore important questions in biology, the business of biotech, and sustainable biomedical innovation. Alex studied biochemistry at university, and subsequently worked for nearly 7 years as a consultant to life science companies. In September 2023, he left his consulting job to found Convoke, a software start-up serving the biopharma industry.

While working with biotech and pharmaceutical clients, Alex experienced first-hand the challenges that these firms face in trying to bring new drugs to market. Born out of a desire to better understand his industry, Alex started his blog, where biomedical innovation and progress is a core topic area. Alex plans to continue to contribute to these topics and others in biology during this program, as he believes an understanding of how to sustainably research and innovate in the life sciences is critical to our continued health, longevity, and understanding of our place in the universe.

Defense Tech Solutionist

Madeline writes about the procurement, development, and fielding of defense technology as well as the specific organizations and people enabling or hindering progress. While weapons and war may appear to be the inverse of progress, there is a rich history of commercial technology originating with or being facilitated by the state. Even more important, deterrence remains the vital pillar upon which progress has the freedom and safety to occur. Madeline works at Palantir where she focuses on business development with the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. She previously worked at Synapse, an AI security startup acquired by Palantir.