Obsolete is a Substack newsletter by Garrison Lovely, a Brooklyn-based freelance journalist covering the intersection of economics, geopolitics, and artificial intelligence. The publication examines how capitalist dynamics and great power competition shape the development of advanced AI systems, and critically interrogates claims about existential risk from AI. With over 4,000 subscribers and work syndicated in major outlets including the New York Times, Nature, TIME, and The Verge, Obsolete aims to provide accessible, well-sourced coverage of AI development and its societal implications. Lovely is also authoring a book of the same name, forthcoming from Nation Books in Spring 2026.
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Theory of Change
Obsolete operates on the theory that well-sourced, accessible journalism about AI development — particularly framing it through capitalism and geopolitics rather than pure technology — can shift public understanding and policy. By reaching millions of readers through major outlets and a growing newsletter, Lovely aims to inform a broader audience than the AI safety community alone, potentially driving better regulation, greater public pressure on AI labs, and more informed policy decisions. Exposing misaligned incentives and gaps between AI companies' stated safety commitments and actual behavior is a core part of this approach.
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Details
- Last Updated
- Apr 2, 2026, 9:53 PM UTC
- Created
- Mar 19, 2026, 10:30 PM UTC