What lawyers can do for AI safety

A barrister with over a decade in litigation and human rights, Martin Radzaj, argues in LessWrong that the legal profession is critically underutilized in AI safety. While research gets most of the focus, he contends the real bottleneck is political will—and that's exactly where lawyers have leverage. They know how to navigate institutions, draft policy, and reach legislators and media. Radzaj outlines several areas where legal expertise could matter: whistleblower protections for AI employees, developing governance standards and oversight mechanisms, addressing children's safety, and advancing human-rights approaches to AI. His core insight: combining deep research with lawyers' institutional know-how could substantially advance AI governance and control.

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