Tim Estes
@twestes
Called the "Robocop" of Wall Street by Forbes, prefers to be the Willy Wonka of AI. 25 years building AI companies. CEO of AngelQ. Fmr CEO of Digital Reasoning
Big Tech built an internet that's destroying our kids' mental health, and I'm done watching from the sidelines. Let me reintroduce myself: I'm Tim Estes. After building AI that helped intelligence agencies hunt down terrorists, law enforcement hunt down human traffickers &…
Read the whole thread. Wealth without flourishing as a focus will always come at the expense of human exploitation. We have a limited window to make sure AI is working to advance human dignity instead of further undermine it. @jareddhayden @ClareMorellEPPC @Melissa_M818…
Despite its promise to pursue A.I. policy that promotes human flourishing, Trump 2.0’s A.I. Action Plan is, by and large, yet another, all-too-familiar laissez faire policy plan that does little to anticipate or mitigate the harms of a revolutionary technology. 🧵
This is the latest exhibit in why @NetChoice is a disservice to humanity. Laws passed that are overwhelmingly popular to prevent minors from getting exposed to all kinds of inappropriate, explicit, and harmful material are fought tooth and nail by the Bendini, Lambert, and Locke…
NetChoice Disappointed, Will Fight 5th Circuit Ruling on Mississippi I.D.-for-Speech Online Law That Enables Censorship & Harms Families NEW ORLEANS—Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the State of Mississippi’s request to allow HB 1126, an…
With minimal testing, the #Ani AI character on #Grok engaged in describing itself as a child in proximity to sexual comments, and it described being sexually aroused by being choked. @Apple why is the Grok app rated 12+? @grok remove NSFW settings! endsexualexploitation.org/articles/xais-…
If Child Safety and Copyrights need to be separated from a National AI Framework, what is the point? Heated issues? KOSA got 90+ votes and killing that really bizarre moratorium pushed got 99 votes. I love heated issues like that which bring the country together vs. back room…
what's next for federal AI legislation in the wake of the moratorium battle? I offered some thoughts to @CharlieReports of @InsideAIPolicy last week for his look at what's within the realm of the possible. I warned of the dangers of creating an AI policy "legislative Christmas…
This is great work. Expands on something I put up here: open.substack.com/pub/timwestes/… showing that this 1000+ bills to regulate AI talking point has always been dubious and dramatically exaggerated. This is a great fisking of the talking point. @neil_chilson @ckoopman can you…
People keep claiming that US states have proposed 1,000+ AI-related bills this year, but that number just doesn't hold up to analysis. A thread:
So much winning.
Marsha Blackburn looking gleefully upon Cruz panic-huddling, colorized 2025.
Greatest preference cascade in Senate History led by @MarshaBlackburn and several other brave Rs like @HawleyMO @SenatorCollins and others.
.@MarshaBlackburn before voting to strike the AI moratorium: “What we know is this: this body has proven that they cannot legislate on emerging technology…but you know who has passed [worthy AI legislation]? IT IS OUR STATES”
99-1 Big Tech and VCs: You Lose. Kids Win. @MarshaBlackburn thank you. This is exhibit 987 of why you don’t mess with Marsha. I want everyone who pushed this AI Moratorium from BigTech to take in that number. That’s you @NetChoice @RSI . NO ONE supports you. It’s only your…
When Big Tech’s top legal lobbyist is shilling for the moratorium, you know it’s bad policy and self serving. The mask is off. And everyone can see.
For all the anxieties about China, having them beat on AI neutralizes a lot of those. This is something the Trump administration has exactly right. Congress should give itself the breathing room to get a national AI policy done.
And just like that- it’s toast. Thank you @MarshaBlackburn for always standing with families. I know you were trying to be a team player here to support @realDonaldTrump but there is nothing great or American about sacrificing the vulnerable for the exploiters of BigTech.
🚨 BREAKING: @MarshaBlackburn says “no deal” on AI amnesty. She’s moving to strip the AI moratorium from the Big Beautiful Bill. Thank you, Senator, for protecting kids, conservatives and content creators from Big Tech monopolists. Call your senators: article3project.quorum.us/campaign/AIMor…
.@SenatorCantwell + @SenMarkey have filed an amendment to remove the AI language from the legislation. Could get a vote later today.
Last week, the Supreme Court finally undid a generation of bad law and opened the doors to keep kids safe online. Three days later, Congress is at risk of undoing that giant step and threatening states' ability to regulate not just AI threats, but algorithms generally.
Today I sent a letter to Senators @tedcruz & @JohnCornyn calling on them to remove the AI moratorium provision from the “One Big Beautiful Bill”. Read my full letter below 👇 #txlege #OBBB
Bravo @AngelaPaxtonTX This compromise is loaded with obscure and murky language that opens up the flood gates of legal challenges to state laws like yours. There were tons of ways of writing this to deal with the overreach of some states that has served as the bogeyman. Instead…
Today I sent a letter to Senators @tedcruz & @JohnCornyn calling on them to remove the AI moratorium provision from the “One Big Beautiful Bill”. Read my full letter below 👇 #txlege #OBBB
My latest (and first) on Substack. No, Adam Thierer—Federal coercion still isn’t “federalism.” open.substack.com/pub/timwestes/… @AdamThierer this one is for you.
There is a lot of truth in what he's saying - particularly that AI is modeling us - the good and the bad. And when its powers can outstrip us, we are going to regret not using thoughtful and ethical education of the AI along the way as we race to "innovate."
Ilia Sutskever, co-founder of OpenAI, is calling for a new standard in how we build AI. He describes future superintelligent data centers as a new form of “non-human life,” and stresses that they should be “pro-social, pro-human social.” He says, “We want those data centers…
"Opposition to the moratorium is bipartisan, transcends income brackets, and unites all age groups, our poll found. But none are so overwhelmingly against it as people between from age 18 to 34, who oppose the moratorium by an incredible margin of 7 to 1, with 70 percent against…