Knowledge is power. That’s especially true of knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI)—what it is, how it works, how to use it, and how it is developing over time. While millions of users access AI everyday, a much smaller set of people witness the current state of the art. Consider that the median researcher at OpenAI relies on AI agents to perform tasks of ever greater complexity for increasing periods of time, with the net result of AI agents performing the equivalent of 3.1 days of work for every one day of human labor. They have access to models that are months ahead of the public frontier. The individuals and organizations that can harness AI to such ends will be more productive, more profitable, and more powerful.
The power resulting from AI expertise is becoming more and more concentrated in what we refer to as the “Silicon Tower.” Our friends and colleagues have left academic roles at prestigious institutions, including our home institutions, Stanford and the University of Texas, to join AI companies. The Information documented that 22 leading academics had made that move—facilitating a brain drain from campuses to the Bay Area; it’s likely that even more have made that jump in the time since. We ourselves have had to navigate these choices, deciding whether to accept job offers for life-changing amounts of money and access versus the freedom and independence of the academy.
by Lawfare – Why We Opted Not to Work at the AI Labs
