JOHN BLISS
I study lawyers who work toward social change and the public interest. Through interviews, surveys, archives, and ethnographic field work, I trace their journeys from law school to leading roles in social movements and other practice settings. My current work is focused on the rising global movement for AI safety (forthcoming with Stanford University Press) and the founding lawyers of the animal rights movement (forthcoming with Oxford University Press).
What motivates public-interest advocates, and how can they be most effective and ethical? My research concentrates on three areas:
Social Change
How does the turn to law (“legal mobilization”) impact the ethics and efficacy of social movements? I have explored this topic through studies of the early NAACP, Black Lives Matter, the founding animal rights lawyers, and the global campaign to mitigate AI’s catastrophic risks.
AI Safety
What can the AI safety movement learn from the literature on legal, political, and social change? I have researched this movement for several years with interviews, ethnography, and surveys. I also draw from front-line experience working with the Institute for Law & AI, a world-leading think tank on AI’s legal challenges.
John Bliss 