Mordechai Rorvig

Intro

Hi, I’m Mordechai, a science journalist, technical writer, and ex-physicist. That’s my face there. My journalistic writing has appeared at outlets like Quanta Magazine, New Scientist, Scientific American, Wired, Vice, Nautilus, Symmetry, Physics, Inverse, IEEE Spectrum, and Astronomy. Currently, you can find me writing at my new website for AI safety news and analysis: Foom Magazine.

Story Highlights

I have written some of the most in-depth stories in existence on some of the most important developments in modern science. I wrote the first cover story for a print popular science magazine investigating whether language models like GPT-3 might be made to achieve a mastery of human language, merely by scaling them larger; the first explainer article unpacking the critically important computer science concept of a probabilistically checkable proof; and most recently, the first book-length investigation of the surprising similarities that neuroscientists have uncovered between deep neural networks—the fundamental architectures behind modern AI programs—and brain regions, like the visual cortex and the language network. Strikingly, these similarities suggest that an era of ubiquitous, synthetic braintech may have already arrived, posing profound implications for the public.

Education and Work Background

I was Quanta Magazine’s first staff writer for AI and computer science. I hold a master’s degree in physics from the University of Wisconsin, where I did research on the design of three-dimensional magnetic confinement fusion devices. I hold a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Texas. Before college, I attended the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS). I grew up in Denton, Texas and currently live and work in New York.

Outside Funding and Support

From November 2022 to November 2023, my work was supported by a grant from Open Philanthropy, a grantmaking organization. I sought out grants after leaving Quanta in August 2022, and becoming increasingly informed about what I believe is a severe state of underfunding in science journalism, particularly for areas as important as computer science and AI.

About This Webpage

This webpage is mainly an informal placeholder for my presence on the internet. I’ve occasionally used it to host blog posts, but nowadays I do most of my random musings elsewhere. If you’d like to reach out to say hello or to ask a question, or share a journalistic story idea, please get in touch.