co-founder @cosmos_vc | ordinary reasoning rendered persistent
Joined January 2015
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Today @Brendan_McCord and I are launching Cosmos Ventures.
AI is overturning assumptions society has organized itself around for centuries. The models keep getting better, but no level of capability can tell us what kind of society we should make with them.
We need a new class of founders to build what comes next.
Instead of only “building what people want” and iterating their way to product-market fit, these founders start from the question of how we should live together. They build new institutions that set the standards for how entire industries operate. They combine a philosophical vision of the society they’re building toward with the technical ability to realize it.
We call them philosopher-builders.
Immanuel Kant gave the Enlightenment its motto: Sapere aude. Dare to know.
The AI age demands another.
Condere aude. Dare to found. 🫡
Matt Mandel retweeted
In the months before ChatGPT came out, I spent a lot of time thinking about the future of the academy
In May of 2022, I wrote the below essay reviewing Josiah Bunting’s “An Education for Our Time” as a way of exploring the purpose of higher ed
My biggest takeaway was that what existing universities have lost is a theory of formation - of what kind of people they want to make their students into
As AI makes it easier to transform our world, the more pressing question is how we should transform ourselves
Education is one of the most important institutions we’ll have to reimagine in light of AI. And to do so successfully will require answering deep philosophical questions about the good life and responsibilities of citizens
Not surprised Korsgaard is anti AI
But the seeming ascription of moral status to AI is fascinating - Korsgaard’s “Fellow Creatures” is imo (implicitly) one of the best arguments against AI moral patienthood
Looking forward to this!
Vision Weekend @foresightinst 40th Speaker Sneak Peek
Secure, Sovereign & Resilient AI
+@woj_zaremba, OpenAI Foundation
+@ilblackdragon, NEAR Protocol
+@sebkrier , Google DeepMind
+ Jenny Read, ARIA
+@NicoleOzer, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Neuro AI & AI for Neuro
+@SumnerLN, Merge
+ Matthew MacDougall, Neuralink
+@maxhodak_ , Science Corporation
+@JoanneZPeng, Amaranth Foundation
+@AdamMarblestone, Convergent Research
+@Matt_R_Angle, Paradromics
Life Unlimited: Biotech & Biosecurity
+@thekaransinghal, OpenAI
+@mattkrisiloff, Conception Bio
+
@hannu, Red Queen Bio
+@velychko_s, Harvard University
Nano, Energy & Space
+ Ralph Merkle, Institute for Molecular Manufacturing
+Ivan Jayapurna, ARIA
+@schingler, Planet Labs
+@erika_alden_d, Pioneer Labs
+ @ltelkins, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Lab For Profit
Funding Paradigms
+@v_maini, Mythos
+@zweinberg, Ex Ante
+@_mattmandel, Cosmos Ventures
Nonprofit Funding Paradigms
+@nanransohoff, Frontier Climate
+@rohan_subramani, Coefficient Giving
+@seemaychou, Astera Institute, Navigation Fund
+@tkalil2050, RenPhil
Existential Hope+
+ @mattbotvinick, Anthropic
+@RosieCampbell, Eleos AI Research
+@PracheeAC, Astera Institute
+@robinhanson, George Mason University
+@gladstein, Human Rights Foundation
+ Anti debate with @Liv_Boeree
+ Office hours with our favorite orgs, @AsimovPress, @BuckInstitute, @BlueDotImpact, @activatefellows, @farairesearch, @collect_intel, @Spec__Tech, @JoinEdgeCity, @LBF_org, @PrincInt, @TheIHS, and more.
+ Sci-fi book swap, unconference, pitch competition, tech demos, anniversary festivities, tea social, and more. + Speaker & Sponsor Gatherings like pre-party aboard the USS Hornet aircraft carrier, lab tours at @E11BIO, @LongshotSpace, CalWave,@ScienceCorp_, Dolphin Labs, plus a Foresight 40th Anniversary Soiree.
It's hard to overstate how excited I am for this weekend celebrating futures of Existential Hope unlocked by science and technology. Thanks to our partners for making this event possible @protocollabs, @paradromics, @RetroBio_, @eigenlabs, @FUTO_Tech, @d_model_ai
Event page & tickets: foresight.org/events/vision-…
Matt Mandel retweeted
Quarterly reminder that @_AashishReddy is criminally under-followed
People love to tell you about how actually P=NP won't necessarily break cryptography because algorithms in P can still have insane constants/exponents
I’m sympathetic to @tylercowen’s two cheers for EA
But for such a vital philosophical movement, they’re surprisingly shallow on the foundations of their worldview
matthewmandel.com/writing/on…
Despite the distinct philosophical vibe, they could actually probably use more philosophers to better develop their theory of normativity. If you want people to follow you to surprising conclusions, you’d want to make sure you’re starting from a really solid base
"Effective altruism is directionally correct, even if you should not follow its recommendations all the way."
@tylercowen self-recommending as usual
thefp.com/p/in-defense-of-ef…
Matt Mandel retweeted
On collaborative intelligence: usv.com/writing/2024/11/coll…
I spent three years sitting next to Nik and Fred - and still couldn’t be more excited for an opportunity to listen to them discuss venture!
Writing a check doesn’t qualify you to give advice.
When @fredwilson was 29 he tried to show up to a board meeting and start giving advice. One of the founders stopped him, “come do every job in the company for a week, then we’ll listen.” So he flew to Buffalo and did it.
With @uninsightful staying at USV as an Investment Partner, I asked the two of them to sit down and compare notes on a business they entered almost four decades apart.
Nikhil is the first analyst in our program’s 20-year history that we've offered the opportunity to stay and move up in the firm.
They covered earning a founder’s trust, building conviction before your partners agree, and staying open to ideas that challenge your strongest held beliefs. They also got into where USV has been right, where we’ve been (very) wrong, and how the venture business is changing.
0:00 Preview
1:46 Why Difficult Founders Make the Most Money
5:20 Before You Give a Founder Advice, Earn the Right
11:28 @fomo: We Passed. Then Spent Six Months Trying to Get In.
20:20 Biology Is Becoming Programmable and Opening Up to Outsiders
22:49 When Knowing Less Helps You See More
26:34 How Do You Compete With a $100 Billion VC Firm?
34:45 Why Fred Would Take His Company Public
38:01 What USV Gets Wrong About Founders
40:47 The Moat AI Hasn’t Broken: Network Effects
44:33 Who Wins When AI Becomes Multiplayer?
Go work with @connacher_!
Matt Mandel retweeted
Come join @GilRubinstein and me in reading texts—ancient, modern, and contemporary—to better understand the philosophical (i.e., the human) stakes of AI. Thank you to @cosmos_inst for the support, and we're excited to be piloting this experiment!
👇👇👇
If you're a student at @UChicago, we're proud to be supporting a reading group on AI, philosophy, and human autonomy – starting from the week October 4th in Hyde Park.
More information, syllabus and sign-up here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…
This is a good read from @aengus_lynch1, gives a useful way to think about the emerging ai safety stack and the role of formal verification
I built agentic misalignment simulations to fire warning shots. Now it's obvious that the AI safety stack is buckling.
I wrote an essay about where it's breaking and how we might build safety that scales.
aenguslynch.com/no-more-warn…
[1/n]
In the months before ChatGPT came out, I spent a lot of time thinking about the future of the academy
In May of 2022, I wrote the below essay reviewing Josiah Bunting’s “An Education for Our Time” as a way of exploring the purpose of higher ed
My biggest takeaway was that what existing universities have lost is a theory of formation - of what kind of people they want to make their students into
As AI makes it easier to transform our world, the more pressing question is how we should transform ourselves
Education is one of the most important institutions we’ll have to reimagine in light of AI. And to do so successfully will require answering deep philosophical questions about the good life and responsibilities of citizens
I find this attitude from academic philosophers baffling
I have deep philosophical disagreements with EA (eg matthewmandel.com/writing/on…)
But it’s easily the most vital philosophical movement of the 21st century so far. Far from finding it embarrassing, other philosophers should aspire to do work that matters as much
Matt Mandel retweeted
Matt was the one of the first people in the @usv ecosystem I got to know - as a fellow philosophy + startups enthusiast we bonded over what it means to "do philosophy impactfully" today
It's incredible to see the vision of Cosmos Ventures come to fruition. In an era where slop commodifies right-brain labor, having a humanities/mission-driven philosophical mindset is more important than ever to drive tech for the betterment of humanity.
Excited for the future, congrats @_mattmandel @Brendan_McCord !!
Today @Brendan_McCord and I are launching Cosmos Ventures.
AI is overturning assumptions society has organized itself around for centuries. The models keep getting better, but no level of capability can tell us what kind of society we should make with them.
We need a new class of founders to build what comes next.
Instead of only “building what people want” and iterating their way to product-market fit, these founders start from the question of how we should live together. They build new institutions that set the standards for how entire industries operate. They combine a philosophical vision of the society they’re building toward with the technical ability to realize it.
We call them philosopher-builders.
Immanuel Kant gave the Enlightenment its motto: Sapere aude. Dare to know.
The AI age demands another.
Condere aude. Dare to found. 🫡
C V
Also I thought this would look cool
Now I’m hearing @_mattmandel is doing what is known as “flower pose”
