What is def/acc anyway?

Who and what we'd like to fund

Since we launched def/acc, a lot of people have asked, "What is def/acc anyway? What sorts of people and ideas do you want to fund?"

tl;dr: I interpret def/acc very broadly: it’s about building the infrastructure for the future where our values win.

Ok, so what does that mean…?

For me, def/acc is a series of beliefs:

1. The current moment is especially important; lots of unusually powerful technology is going to be built in the next decade

2. Almost everything we value today is possible because of scientific and technological progress - we need more of it and faster

3. The future is indeterminate: it will be shaped by the agency of a surprisingly small number of extremely driven, visionary individuals

4. Through technology, individuals get to “vote” for the kind of future they would like. But the world is a weighing, not a counting, machine: small groups of people can have disproportionate impact through sheer force of will and ambition

5. Some futures on offer today would be disastrous, but have a serious shot of prevailing: futures that reject technology and growth; futures where human agency is replaced or downgraded; futures where authoritarian states lead on tech and power

6. def/acc is about voting against these futures and choosing to build tech that promotes growth, democratic values, vibrant and open institutions, and human agency and capability

7. If you think this future matters, you need to build it. We started def/acc at Entrepreneur First to find and fund the founders who can build the load-bearing infrastructure of this future. I want to throw everything I’ve got behind these people and their ideas

I hesitate to list ideas I’m excited about, as founders will know better than me, but as a flavour… here are some questions I’m thinking a lot about and would love to work on with founders…

• How might AI accelerate the practice of science beyond what we’ve already seen? What tools and platforms do we need to make this happen?

• What infrastructure do we need for a world with millions or billions of capable autonomous agents performing economic activity?

• What new institutions will we need in a world where technology changes much faster? What does insurance look like? What do regulators look like? (I’m inspired, for example, by Scarlet, an EF-funded company that certifies medical software and so enables much faster innovation)

• If most countries, even smaller ones, are going to want some sort of “technological sovereignty” in AI, what tools and platforms will be needed? What could / should a UK “national champion” in AI look like?

• What does AI-enabled biodefence look like? How do we prevent and/or rapidly mitigate future pandemics? (and what sort of business models are needed for this?)

• How will drones change the balance of attack and defence in war and other security theatres? What do we need to build to make this go well?

• How will AI + OSINT change national security? What would an AI-first Bellingcat look like?

• What’s the role for augmented human intelligence and collective human intelligence in a world of powerful AI?

There are many more! If this worldview resonates and you want to build a company that supports it, alongside a peer group of extraordinary people, get in touch. Email me or apply now.

Speak soon,

Matt