Some Thoughts on AI

3 months ago

The author identifies as a socialist leftist with a background in coding as a hobby.
They are known for their work in left-wing economic policy and labor law, including running the People’s Policy Project and maintaining the NLRB Research database.
Despite leftist skepticism towards AI/LLMs, the author is intrigued by the technology due to their coding background.
They use AI to automate tasks like statistical programming, legal research, and data scraping, significantly speeding up their work.
AI has helped in creating the NLRB Edge newsletter and developing a legal reference book on NLRB case law.
The author distinguishes between different types of skepticism towards AI: skepticism of the technology itself, its valuation, and its distributive effects.
They argue that concerns about AI's impact on labor and inequality are critiques of capitalism, not the technology itself.
The author sees AI as a powerful tool that democratizes coding and expands personal capabilities, reminiscent of their early experiences with open-source software.

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