Zvi Mowshowitz

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Zvi Mowshowitz
Zvi Mowshowitz playing poker at Manifest 2023.jpg
Zvi Mowshowitz playing poker at the Manifold conference in 2023
Born (1979-01-08) January 8, 1979 (age 46) [1]
Residence New York, NY, USA
Nationality American
Pro Tour debut 1998 Pro Tour Los Angeles
Winnings US$ 147,010 [2]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)1 (4) [3]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)2 (9) [4]
Lifetime Pro Points261 [5]
Planeswalker Level 47 (Archmage)

Zvi Mowshowitz is an American writer and member of the rationalist community who primarily discusses new developments in artificial intelligence. He is a former competitive Magic: The Gathering player and was CEO of MetaMed.

Contents

Career

Mowshowitz is an alumnus of Columbia University and holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics. [6] [7] He co-founded and was the CEO of MetaMed, a medical research analysis firm. [8] He has worked at Jane Street Capital, and has worked for the gambling industry in Las Vegas. [8] [9] He attempted to launch an online trading card game, Emergents, in 2020. [8]

Magic: The Gathering

Mowshowitz held a developer intern position at Wizards of the Coast R&D in 2005. [10] He created the deck TurboZvi. [8] His first-place finishes at major competitions were the 1999 World Championships as part of the four-person United States national team, the 2001 Pro Tour Tokyo, and two 2003 Grand Prix. He has placed in the top eight of four Pro Tours, and earned over $140,000 playing Magic competitively. [11] In 2007, Mowshowitz was elected into the Magic Hall of Fame. [12]

 Season  Event type  Location   Format    Date   Rank 
1998–99 Grand Prix BostonBlock Constructed5–6 September 19984
1998–99 Pro Tour New YorkBlock Constructed30 April–2 May 19993
1998–99 Grand Prix Washington D.C.Limited19–20 June 19994
1998–99 Nationals Special2–4 July 19994
1998–99 Worlds YokohamaNational team4–8 August 19991
1999–00 Invitational Kuala LumpurSpecial2–5 March 20003
2000–01 Grand Prix ManchesterLimited7–8 October 20008
2000–01 Pro Tour ChicagoStandard1–3 December 20007
2000–01 Pro Tour TokyoBlock Constructed16–18 March 20011
2000–01 Masters BarcelonaBooster Draft1–4 May 20014
2001–02 Masters New OrleansBooster Draft31 October–3 November 20015
2001–02 Masters OsakaTeam Limited14–17 March 20025
2001–02 Grand Prix New JerseyTeam Limited29–30 June 20022
2002–03 Grand Prix New OrleansExtended3–4 January 20031
2002–03 Grand Prix BostonLimited22–23 February 20037
2002–03 Masters YokohamaBooster Draft8–11 May 20035
2002–03 Grand Prix PittsburghTeam Limited31 May–1 June 20031
2003–04 Grand Prix AtlantaStandard29–30 August 20035
2003–04 Invitational Los AngelesSpecial11–13 May 20044
2012–13 Grand Prix PortlandModern11–12 May 20133

Last updated: 12 May 2013
Source: Wizards.com

Mowshowitz has written about Magic for several outlets, including the official Magic website. [11]

Later career

Mowshowitz is on the board of directors for the Center for Applied Rationality, and is a member of the rationalist community. [13] He also founded Balsa Research, a nonprofit think tank which advocated for the repeal of the Jones Act, increasing the housing supply, and reform of the National Environmental Policy Act. [14] In 2023, Mowshowitz wrote an article for Vox on the topic of artificial intelligence safety. [15]

Mowshowitz has a blog on Substack under the name "Don't Worry about the Vase". He has written on topics such as artificial intelligence, economics, and the COVID-19 pandemic. [16] [17] [ non-primary source needed ]

Personal life

Mowshowitz is the son of American biochemist Deborah Mowshowitz. His parents have both worked as Columbia University professors. [8]

Further reading

Preceded by
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Matt Linde
Mike Long
Bryce Currence
Jon Finkel
Magic: The Gathering Team World Champion
With:
John Hunka
Kyle Rose
Charles Kornblith
1999		Succeeded by
Flag of the United States.svg United States
Jon Finkel
Chris Benafel
Frank Hernandez
Aaron Forsythe

References

  1. ↑ Zvi Mowshowitz
  2. ↑ "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Archived from the original on 14 March 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
  4. ↑ "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Archived from the original on 17 January 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
  5. ↑ "Lifetime Pro Points". Archived from the original on 18 December 2005. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
  6. ↑ "LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  7. ↑ "Should we halt progress in AI? Reflections on our interview with Zvi Mowshowitz". 16 May 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Hackett, Robert; Roberts, Jeff John (13 June 2020). "Emergents: Zvi Mowshowitz's quest to shake up the video game business". Fortune. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "AI #72: Denying the Future". 11 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "The Origins of Zvi". Star City Games. 2005. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame Profiles – Zvi Mowshowitz". Wizards of the Coast. 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  12. ↑ "The Class of 2007". Wizards of the Coast. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2007.
  13. ↑ Elinson, Zusha (22 February 2025). "A Silicon Valley Intellectual Society Kicked Them Out. Now They're Tied to a Killing Spree". Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on 2 March 2025. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  14. ↑ "FAQ". Balsa Research. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  15. ↑ Mowshowitz, Zvi (13 December 2023). "We're still in a fight for survival when it comes to AI safety". Vox . Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  16. ↑ Mowshowitz, Zvi (13 December 2023). "The Best of Don't Worry About the Vase". Don't Worry About the Vase. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Zvi Mowshowitz Profile and Activity". Vox. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
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