About Hyperdimensional
Hyperdimensional is a newsletter about emerging technology, public policy, and the future of governance. It is an experiment, and its format will vary over time. It features deep dives into the intersection of technology and policy, book reviews, and news commentary. My main technological focus is AI, but I also write about biotechnology, neurotechnology, and other areas at the frontier of science and engineering.
My goal is for this newsletter to be useful to you in understanding the technological change happening all around us.
Some of my main themes include:
Presenting an informed case for techno-optimism;
Educating readers about the scientific and technical realities of AI;
Using lessons from the history of earlier general-purpose technologies to inform our perspective today;
Describing the risks and challenges of AI in a scientifically and empirically grounded manner;
Proposing ways that government functions can be enhanced using AI;
Developing a vision for the future of governance in light of technological change, including questions such as:
How should personal data, which will become both increasingly broad and precise over the coming years, be treated legally?
How and to what extent should software code be incorporated into First Amendment jurisprudence?
To what extent are individuals responsible for their own misuse of technology versus the creators of that technology? Is a software product the personal property of its user or of its creator?
How will key social services such as education be changed by AI, and what are the implications for government?
How should regulatory approval processes for technologies like new drugs evolve in an era where novel therapies are faster to develop and more personalized to each patient?
How will we create a new infrastructure for validating identity when videos, photos, recordings, and the like are trivially easy to fake?
How can law enforcement take advantage of new, AI-enabled crimefighting techniques while preserving civil liberties?
I write from a classical liberal and un-apologetically pro-progress perspective. This does not mean that I am a blind techno-optimist, nor does it mean that I see no role for government. What it does mean, however, is that I am skeptical of an expansive government role in the economy. I believe that government’s primary functions are to ensure the security of its citizens, uphold the rule of law, and protect property rights.
I am skeptical of the ability of the state to do things like, for example, ensure that the societal diffusion of a general-purpose technology like AI is wholly “beneficial,” because I do not think that it—or anyone else—knows what “beneficial” concretely means in this context. I believe these are questions that we will answer collectively and over substantial periods of time. Our answers will be imperfect, but they will be ours, rather than an imposition from the top.
By pro-progress, I mean that I believe technological progress is, empirically, the only way we have found to durably improve our material well-being. Furthermore, because of the natural tendency of all things to decay over time, I believe that technological progress is a necessity even to sustain current standards of living.
About Me
I am a Research Fellow in the Artificial Intelligence & Progress Project at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center. You can read more about me here.
Why subscribe?
All of my posts, including the archive, are fully free to all. The best way to support my work is to share it with others. However, if you do want to subscribe to support the work directly, I would very much appreciate it.
Stay up-to-date
Never miss an update—every new post is sent directly to your email inbox. For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features, get the Substack app.
Join the crew
Be part of a community of people who share your interests. Participate in the comments section, or support this work with a subscription.
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
