Understanding AI 迎来新作者 Dan Kagan-Kans

We just published the first post by our newest writer, Dan Kagan-Kans.

I’m excited to have Dan on the team. He spent a decade as managing editor of Mosaic, a magazine devoted to Jewish history, culture, and politics, and wrote arts criticism and essays. Then he had a son two years ago. While up at night he started reading about AI and got hooked.

Over the last year, Dan has had an amazing run as a freelance journalist. I first encountered his work in February, when he published “The left is missing out on AI” for Transformer. It argued that leftist thinkers risk marginalizing themselves if they dismiss AI as “stochastic parrots” and fail to take the technology seriously.

In July, Dan was the first reporter in years to get an interview with Hans Moravec, the namesake of Moravec’s Paradox — the observation that tasks that are easy for people are often hard for robots, and vice versa. You can read his excellent profile of Moravec in New York Magazine.

In August, Dan wrote my favorite analysis of why the data center backlash has picked up so much steam in recent months.

All of which is to say I expect big things from Dan.

Talk to Dan

Dan would like to get to know Understanding AI readers! He has opened up some slots on his calendar tomorrow and Wednesday for video calls.

If you’d like to talk to Dan, please click here and grab a time slot. You could discuss your own use of AI, how AI is affecting your industry or profession, topics you’d like to see us cover, or anything else AI-related that’s on your mind.

You can also follow Dan on Twitter.

Dan is supported by a Tarbell Fellowship

Like Kai last year, Dan will be supported by a fellowship from the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism. When Kai’s fellowship ended in June, I brought him on board as an employee. I would love to do the same for Dan next year if our business grows enough to allow it.

The Tarbell Center is funded by groups like Coefficient Giving, Longview Philanthropy, and the Survival and Flourishing Fund that believe AI poses an existential risk. However, Tarbell says that “our grantees and fellows maintain complete autonomy over their reporting.” And I’ve found this to be the case — they’ve never attempted to influence the stories we cover or the way we cover them.