Jan Wehner

Jan Wehner

PhD Student in AI Safety

Blog posts

2025

Learning from the Luddites: Implications for a modern AI labour movement

14 minute read

The Luddites were a social movement of English textile workers in the 19th century, famous for smashing the machines that were replacing their jobs. The term Luddite is now used to describe opponents of new technologies (often in a derogatory way). However, I believe many people using the term misunderstand what the Luddites did and wanted. Indeed, the Luddites and their ultimate failure can teach a modern AI-labour movement valuable lessons.

30.9.2045

14 minute read

The sleep pod opens with a soft hiss. Five hours—that’s all I need anymore. The pod regulated everything through the night: temperature shifting through optimal sleep cycles, gentle massages during deep sleep, binaural tones guiding my brain through REM. I step out feeling completely rested.

Envision paradise in the face of catastrophe

7 minute read

You might think a horrible catastrophe is imminent due to climate change, plummeting birth rates, democratic backsliding or whatever your doom-of-choice is. In the face of such catastrophes it might seem unimportant, distracting or downright offensive to consider what beautiful futures might look like. However, I believe that thinking about the end goal is essential for steering towards positive outcomes.

15 Levers for influencing Frontier AI Companies

17 minute read

The development of AGI could be the most important event of our lifetimes. Ensuring that AI is developed and deployed safely could be the most impactful thing many of us can work on. However, the development of Frontier AI systems is happening in only a handful of companies. This leaves the rest of us to wonder: How can we influence Frontier AI Companies?

My Predictions for AI 2027: Metaculus Forecasting Questions

26 minute read

The AI 2027 Tournament on Metaculus poses 16 questions about the near term future of AI. They are derived from the AI 2027 scenario and cover predictions about technological, economical, political and societal developments. I made predictions for 6 of the questions and want to share my reasoning. I believe there is a virtue in making public predictions, open my reasoning up to criticism and contribute to the discourse.