“How a cold email got the Finnish government to respond on superintelligence regulation” by Josh Thorsteinson

<p><strong> Summary</strong></p><p> I cold emailed a Finnish MP. Four weeks later, the government responded to his written question saying they "seek to constructively promote the creation of international regulation on the development of superintelligent AI" (immediately followed by emphasizing the need to balance safety with innovation). </p><p> The MP and I met for lunch. For over an hour, he seriously engaged with my arguments that superintelligence would kill everyone and the urgent need for an international agreement to prohibit its development. </p><p> Unprompted, he decided to submit a written question, a formal process in Finland that requires the government to respond within 21 days. Four days after our lunch, it was submitted, taking into account suggestions from me and two experts I DM'd: Nate Soares and Charbel-Raphaël Segerie. </p><p> It asked how Finland has assessed risks from superintelligence and whether it's "prepared to promote international regulation that would effectively prevent or restrict the development of superintelligent AI."</p><p> The MP started speaking out about AI danger and mainstream Finnish media picked up the story. Most notably, he did an interview alongside a Finnish CS professor on the second-most-watched TV channel in Finland with an estimated 100-200k live viewers. </p><p> Inspired by [...]</p> <p>---</p><p><strong>Outline:</strong></p><p>(00:13) Summary</p><p>(01:59) The email</p><p>(02:50) I'm just a guy</p><p>(03:22) The meeting</p><p>(05:35) The written question</p><p>(06:35) Media attention</p><p>(07:37) Inspiring a friend</p><p>(08:10) The response</p><p>(09:46) Do this yourself</p> <p>---</p>

<p><b>First published:</b><br/>

September 10th, 2026 </p>

<p><b>Source:</b><br/>

<a href="https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pbKrZCzhsnar6iaAH/how-a-cold-email-got-the-finnish-government-to-respond-on?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Source+URL+in+episode+description&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pbKrZCzhsnar6iaAH/how-a-cold-email-got-the-finnish-government-to-respond-on</a> </p>

<p>---</p>

<p>Narrated by <a href="https://type3.audio/?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Narrated+by+TYPE+III+AUDIO&utm_term=lesswrong&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TYPE III AUDIO</a>.</p>