Bahrad Sokhansanj
@bahradlaw.com
AI & Biosecurity Law | Saskatonian-Angeleno
Now that I have an employer: views are very much my own and not theirs.
Now that I have an employer: views are very much my own and not theirs.
Recognizing this (among other things) made me stop developing agentic AI for legal applications, because it no longer seemed compelling. I think generative AI raises a lot of issues that call for regulation (and rethinking structural inveatments) but a lot of the hype around automation is misplaced.
2020s: AI "System Prompts" are lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "prompt engineers".
1980s: AI "Expert Systems" were lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "knowledge engineers".
1980s: AI "Expert Systems" were lengthy, carefully constructed sets of expert rules about a particular domain, created by "knowledge engineers".
January 1, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Recognizing this (among other things) made me stop developing agentic AI for legal applications, because it no longer seemed compelling. I think generative AI raises a lot of issues that call for regulation (and rethinking structural inveatments) but a lot of the hype around automation is misplaced.
Elon Musk's X AI (Grok) has hired arch-conservative lawyers to try to block AB2013 -- requiring high level summaries of Gen AI training data -- asserting First Amendment & Takings claims that would eviscerate a broad range of disclosure laws that protect consumers and the environment. Link below:
January 1, 2026 at 7:24 PM
Elon Musk's X AI (Grok) has hired arch-conservative lawyers to try to block AB2013 -- requiring high level summaries of Gen AI training data -- asserting First Amendment & Takings claims that would eviscerate a broad range of disclosure laws that protect consumers and the environment. Link below:
The most visionary TV show in history, unfortunately. "The first computerized TV show," as it announces at the top. youtu.be/TftnRx449PA?...
Turn On episode 1
YouTube video by Robotussin Vintage Synths
youtu.be
December 30, 2025 at 11:33 PM
The most visionary TV show in history, unfortunately. "The first computerized TV show," as it announces at the top. youtu.be/TftnRx449PA?...
Elizabeth Warren uses ChatGPT.
December 29, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Elizabeth Warren uses ChatGPT.
You have to wonder if this is an effort to get around antitrust issues.
Nvidia to acquire top staff from AI chip start-up Groq in licensing deal ft.trib.al/1RtKcKG
Nvidia to acquire top staff from AI chip start-up Groq in licensing deal
World’s most valuable company will gain engineer who helped develop Google’s Tensor Processing Unit chip programme
ft.trib.al
December 25, 2025 at 1:32 AM
You have to wonder if this is an effort to get around antitrust issues.
Reposted by Bahrad Sokhansanj
In 2025 we stood up to authoritarianism. We found our solidarity. We pushed back against the kidnapping of our neighbors and the economic cruelty of the Trump Administration.
In 2026, we are going to organize and win.
Merry Christmas 🎄
In 2026, we are going to organize and win.
Merry Christmas 🎄
December 24, 2025 at 4:44 PM
In 2025 we stood up to authoritarianism. We found our solidarity. We pushed back against the kidnapping of our neighbors and the economic cruelty of the Trump Administration.
In 2026, we are going to organize and win.
Merry Christmas 🎄
In 2026, we are going to organize and win.
Merry Christmas 🎄
I like Waymo a lot, but I also think we need to understand that they rely on having the backstop of people monitoring and guiding them -- and it makes sense for cities to demand those workers be local, both for economic and safety reasons. It's time to shift the conversation to that IMO.
So we found out today in San Francisco that autonomous cars don't work in a blackout (Waymos shut down, wherever they were, all over city)
Participating in live experiments is fun! I still wish I'd been asked beforehand. But it is pretty wild and kind of cool to see them discover their edge cases.
Participating in live experiments is fun! I still wish I'd been asked beforehand. But it is pretty wild and kind of cool to see them discover their edge cases.
December 21, 2025 at 6:14 PM
I like Waymo a lot, but I also think we need to understand that they rely on having the backstop of people monitoring and guiding them -- and it makes sense for cities to demand those workers be local, both for economic and safety reasons. It's time to shift the conversation to that IMO.
Reposted by Bahrad Sokhansanj
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
They should call it an "expert system.'
December 20, 2025 at 12:53 AM
They should call it an "expert system.'
Reposted by Bahrad Sokhansanj
Some quick footnotes:
* A summary of the majority view from insiders in the tech industry on what's really going on with AI www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
* A reflection on what a "good" AI system would have to look like www.anildash.com/2025/05/01/w...
* A summary of the majority view from insiders in the tech industry on what's really going on with AI www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
* A reflection on what a "good" AI system would have to look like www.anildash.com/2025/05/01/w...
The Majority AI View - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Some quick footnotes:
* A summary of the majority view from insiders in the tech industry on what's really going on with AI www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
* A reflection on what a "good" AI system would have to look like www.anildash.com/2025/05/01/w...
* A summary of the majority view from insiders in the tech industry on what's really going on with AI www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
* A reflection on what a "good" AI system would have to look like www.anildash.com/2025/05/01/w...
This is something I hope can get through to folks critical of LLMs and generative image/text models (the "AI" that is generally the focus of that criticism -- we seem to have collectively given up on issues with ML analytics I guess? -- but that's another issue).
Great, so then the question is: what do you do about it? And my *point* is, yelling at users, and saying "AI bad!" has not worked. It has failed massively. To the scale of hundreds of millions of users. And yet, people keep doing it. Just as happened with social media.
December 19, 2025 at 2:31 AM
This is something I hope can get through to folks critical of LLMs and generative image/text models (the "AI" that is generally the focus of that criticism -- we seem to have collectively given up on issues with ML analytics I guess? -- but that's another issue).
This is an excellent thread.
Since it's come up again, I'll try to succinctly state my view on "AI" as we think of it in culture & tech these days. I think "Big AI" products (ChatGPT, Google Gemini) are mostly terrible for society, because they've been foisted without consent on millions, with lies about what they can do.
December 19, 2025 at 2:27 AM
This is an excellent thread.
The loss of what's left of American legitimacy at the end of a year that began with vaporizing USAID is nothing short of disastrous. As someone new to the policy space I find myself deeply affected by this and it's shaping a lot of my thinking.
I voted YES on the resolution to prevent the Trump Administration from carrying out its illegal, performative boat strikes in the Caribbean.
We need to stop this madness.
We need to stop this madness.
December 18, 2025 at 12:50 AM
The loss of what's left of American legitimacy at the end of a year that began with vaporizing USAID is nothing short of disastrous. As someone new to the policy space I find myself deeply affected by this and it's shaping a lot of my thinking.
I used to live in this district!
To give a sense of how big the shift is against Trump and the Republicans, Gisler lost this same district last year by a staggering margin of 61% to 39%.
ballotpedia.org/Georgia_Hous...
ballotpedia.org/Georgia_Hous...
December 10, 2025 at 3:44 AM
I used to live in this district!
Meanwhile David Shor, Yglesias, and a lot of the ex-Biden set are upset that US exports of Nvidia H200 chips to China are supporting the development of AI in an illiberal country.
New WSJ reporting: "During a December visit to Washington, David Ellison offered assurances to Trump administration officials that if he bought Warner, he'd make sweeping changes to CNN, a common target of President Trump's ire, people familiar with the matter said..."
Behind Paramount’s Relentless Campaign to Woo Warner Discovery and President Trump
David Ellison has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Discovery, taking his case directly to shareholders after Netflix clinched a deal.
www.wsj.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Meanwhile David Shor, Yglesias, and a lot of the ex-Biden set are upset that US exports of Nvidia H200 chips to China are supporting the development of AI in an illiberal country.
I just started a new research position at the Institute for Law & AI, and here's my first #AIPolicy piece looking at the Genesis Mission Executive Order released last week: law-ai.org/the-genesis-...
The Genesis Mission Executive Order: What It Does and How it Shapes the Future of AI-Enabled Scientific Research
Summary The Genesis Mission EO seeks to build a federal AI-enabled science platform by directing the Department of Energy to organize, plan,...
law-ai.org
December 5, 2025 at 10:18 PM
I just started a new research position at the Institute for Law & AI, and here's my first #AIPolicy piece looking at the Genesis Mission Executive Order released last week: law-ai.org/the-genesis-...
Reposted by Bahrad Sokhansanj
Reclaiming attention requires educational institutions to reignite excitement and trust in learning
open models and utilizing open source ecosystem is probably the best path
open models and utilizing open source ecosystem is probably the best path
learn first principles and embedded programming
introduce cobot framework (instead of robot framework)
augmentation > replacement
introduce cobot framework (instead of robot framework)
augmentation > replacement
November 27, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reclaiming attention requires educational institutions to reignite excitement and trust in learning
open models and utilizing open source ecosystem is probably the best path
open models and utilizing open source ecosystem is probably the best path
Reposted by Bahrad Sokhansanj
Friendly reminder:
The holidays are the toughest time of the year for many. Lead with love. The season isn’t about consumption, it’s about compassion.
The holidays are the toughest time of the year for many. Lead with love. The season isn’t about consumption, it’s about compassion.
November 27, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Friendly reminder:
The holidays are the toughest time of the year for many. Lead with love. The season isn’t about consumption, it’s about compassion.
The holidays are the toughest time of the year for many. Lead with love. The season isn’t about consumption, it’s about compassion.
Reposted by Bahrad Sokhansanj
Remember that time Black Men saved Democracy…
November 6, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Remember that time Black Men saved Democracy…
Draft Isaac!
November 5, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Draft Isaac!
Big day for the Federal Circuit as well!
I’m off to SCOTUS, where the justices are to consider at 10a whether Trump’s tariffs are illegal — or, if they’re legal, whether they are unconstitutional. Send me good wishes and, for more caffeine to get through this day, subscribe to Law Dork. www.lawdork.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Big day for the Federal Circuit as well!
Please vote yes on 50. Thanks.
It's election day, Angelenos! If you haven't already voted, make sure your voice is heard.
Polls are open until 8pm. You can check your registration, find your polling place, and find out how to register and vote today here:
Polls are open until 8pm. You can check your registration, find your polling place, and find out how to register and vote today here:
Register
www.lavote.gov
November 4, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Please vote yes on 50. Thanks.
Great interview and highly informative. Was not aware of how much of a downward trend there has been in the convention business.
It's really time to start asking these people: okay, great, so which world-class conventions and trade shows are you hoping to get, what is their current attendance, and how are you planning on luring them to LA?
And, more importantly, how many hotel room nights have they promised to book?
And, more importantly, how many hotel room nights have they promised to book?
October 2, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Great interview and highly informative. Was not aware of how much of a downward trend there has been in the convention business.
Reposted by Bahrad Sokhansanj
Half of Los Angeles can now be legally profiled.
Half of LA and a third of Chicago are Latino. Court-blessed racial profiling will terrorize both cities
ICE Can Now Racially Profile Almost Half of LA
The Supreme Court’s ruling will fall especially hard on the 48% of Los Angeles County residents who are Hispanic or Latino.
bloom.bg
September 10, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Half of Los Angeles can now be legally profiled.