Don't Worry About the Vase is Zvi Mowshowitz's influential blog and Substack newsletter covering AI safety, AI developments, rationality, and policy, with over 32,000 subscribers.
Don't Worry About the Vase is Zvi Mowshowitz's influential blog and Substack newsletter covering AI safety, AI developments, rationality, and policy, with over 32,000 subscribers.
People
Updated 05/18/26Author
Funding Details
Updated 05/18/26- Annual Budget
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Org Details
Updated 05/18/26Don't Worry About the Vase is a blog and Substack newsletter written by Zvi Mowshowitz, an American writer and member of the rationalist community. The blog began on WordPress around March 2017 and has since migrated its primary publishing to Substack, where it has grown to over 32,000 free subscribers and hundreds of paid subscribers. In 2024, the publication received over 3.3 million views. Zvi Mowshowitz has an unusual background: he is a former Hall of Fame competitive Magic: The Gathering player, holds a mathematics degree from Columbia University, previously worked at Jane Street Capital, and was CEO of MetaMed, a medical research analysis company. He is also on the board of directors of the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR). The blog has evolved over time from covering rationality and game theory to extensive COVID-19 analysis during the pandemic, and now focuses primarily on artificial intelligence. The weekly AI update is the flagship content, providing detailed summaries and analysis of AI research, model releases, safety concerns, and policy debates. Zvi is known for his willingness to take strong positions and for the breadth and depth of his coverage. All content is published free of charge with no paywall. Optional paid subscriptions are available at $10/month or $100/year. Funding for Zvi's full-time writing comes primarily from anonymous donors facilitated by the Good Ancestor Foundation, which has funded the blog for at least three consecutive years (2023, 2024, 2025). Zvi has stated publicly that he is financially comfortable and is not actively seeking additional funding for the blog. In addition to the blog, Zvi founded Balsa Research, a small policy nonprofit focused on the Jones Act and shipping reform, housing policy, and NEPA reform, though this is a separate entity from the blog.
Theory of Change
Updated 05/18/26By providing timely, detailed, and accurate public analysis of AI developments and AI safety concerns, the blog creates a better-informed audience that includes AI researchers, policymakers, AI lab employees, and influential figures in the technology and policy communities. When the people building and governing AI systems read and engage with careful safety-oriented analysis, it can influence their decisions at the margin, improving model specifications, safety practices, and policy outcomes. The blog also builds a broader public that understands AI risks, creating more informed pressure on institutions to act responsibly.
Grants Received– no grants recorded
Updated 05/18/26Projects
Updated 05/18/26
Listener-supported podcast for Zvi Mowshowitz’s blog Don’t Worry About the Vase, published via dwatvpodcast.substack.com and distributed on major podcast platforms.
Discussion
Key risk: Additional funding may have low counterfactual impact because he reports being fully funded and writing full-time, so money is unlikely to be the bottleneck for more output or influence.
Case for funding: His widely read weekly AI updates deliver timely, safety-oriented synthesis that influences AI lab staff and policymakers, making him a uniquely leveraged node for improving the AI information environment that additional funding could amplify via research/editorial support.