Matt Mandel

co-founder @cosmos_vc | ordinary reasoning rendered persistent

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

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. 🫡

[Cosmos Ventures @cosmos_vc]

Introducing Cosmos Ventures https://t.co/cow5OgjohH

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@connacher_ @itaisher YES

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@max_spero_ @Brendan_McCord Thanks Max!!

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

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. 🫡

[Cosmos Ventures @cosmos_vc]

Introducing Cosmos Ventures https://t.co/cow5OgjohH

[Jacob Neplokh @jacobneplokh]

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!
👇👇👇

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@marklxu1 @Brendan_McCord thanks mark!!

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@joelhedwards @Brendan_McCord 🙏

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@TheKhandyman @Brendan_McCord Thanks Manav!!

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@holyn @Brendan_McCord thank you! hoping we can be the best partners to the kinds of founders we need!

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@Caleb_C_Boyd @Brendan_McCord 🫡🫡

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@rieglobe @Brendan_McCord thanks rie!!

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

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

[Aengus Lynch @aengus_lynch1]

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.

https://t.co/Sft4JGim8t

[1/n]

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@jakeadler congrats!

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@PAHoyeck It's excellent! https://t.co/qHr4Zvkrh6

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

"Understand" – Ted Chiang (1991)

[Dorsa @dorsa_rohani]

Will standard game theory break when two superintelligences interact because they can simulate each other's code?

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@livjenkss congrats liv!

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

https://t.co/BnAbIGw7HH

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

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

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

Found @slatestarcodex’s machzor

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

I find this attitude from academic philosophers baffling

I have deep philosophical disagreements with EA (eg https://t.co/5C2jyuMW0l)

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

[Brian Leiter @BrianLeiter]

This is pretty funny (and apt). EA really is an embarrassment to philosophy.

[Jay Yu 🐟 @0xfishylosopher]

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 !!

[Matt Mandel @_mattmandel]

@0xfishylosopher @usv thanks jay!! and congrats to you on joining usv – it's an amazing match and i couldnt be more excited for them and you!