Left Abdicates AI Policy and Public Debate

Joshua Achiam, head of mission alignment at OpenAI, wrote on X last year that the political left has largely abdicated its role in long-range discussions about artificial intelligence. The piece argues the left often treats AI as something to hate, mock, or ignore despite AI’s potential to affect billions of people’s lives and livelihoods. The commentary warns this disengagement could become a generational mistake without renewed left engagement.