The Technoprogressive Hub is fighting for a high-tech and radically democratic future. Sponsored by the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and hosted by J. Hughes.
technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)
J. Hughes and Matteo McDermant discuss how rogue AI impacts left futurism, exploring self-critique and existential risk arguments in this interview.
2 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT
Spirituality and Futurist Politics
Host Robert Chapman Brooking discusses his "ultrahumanism" philosophy, blending futurism and spirituality, with insights on AI socialism and power strategies in this interview.
18 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT
Technoprogressive Worldbuilding
James Hughes and Matteo MacDermant interview each other about technoprogressive worldbuilding, exploring biohacking ethics, design justice, and democratic transhumanism.
11 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT
The Best Way to Nationalize AI
Host [Host Name] interviews [Guest Name] about the surprising political convergence on nationalizing AI and its implications for a sovereign wealth fund.
29 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT
Age Verification Laws
J Hughes and Matteo MacDermant interview Sarah Shahed about the privacy risks and potential technofixes of age verification laws for online content.
9 May 2026
Transnational Queer Media
Thomas Baudinette is Senior Lecturer in Global Cultures at Macquarie University in Australia, a cultural anthropologist whose work maps the role popular culture plays in shaping gender and sexuality across East and Southeast Asia. His first book, Regimes of Desire: Young Gay Men, Media, and Masculinity in Tokyo (University of Michigan Press, 2021), examined how commercial gay media and the bar culture of Shinjuku shapes gay male identity in Japan. His second book, Boys Love Media in Thailand: Celebrity, Fans, and Transnational Asian Queer Popular Culture (Bloomsbury, 2023), is the first book-length study of the Thai BL phenomenon, drawing on six years of ethnographic fieldwork documenting the shift of queer cultural production in Asia from Japan to Thailand. He also co-edited East Asian Pornographies and Online Porn Cultures (Routledge, 2023) and Queer Transfigurations: Boys Love Media in Asia. He is currently working on two new book projects: an edited collection titled Riding the Thai Wind: Globalising Thai Media, Transnational Fandom, and Soft Power, and a monograph titled Queer Fantasies of Asia: Japanese and Korean Media Fandom in the Philippines.
Show Notes
* Thomas Baudinette’s personal website thomasbaudinette.com (http://thomasbaudinette.com)
* Academia.edu profile https://mq.academia.edu/ThomasBaudinette (https://mq.academia.edu/ThomasBaudinette)
* Boys Love Media in Thailand (Bloomsbury, 2023) https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/boys-love-media-in-thailand-9781350330641/ (https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/boys-love-media-in-thailand-9781350330641/)
* “Exploring the rise of activism for LGBTQ+ rights in contemporary Thailand within Boys Love idol culture” (Celebrity Studies, 2025) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19392397.2025.2521219 (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19392397.2025.2521219)
* Queer Transfigurations: Boys Love Media in Asia (University of Michigan Press, 2022) https://www.press.umich.edu/12040318/queer_transfigurations (https://www.press.umich.edu/12040318/queer_transfigurations)
* Marriage Equality, Thai BL Culture, and Queer Soft Power
* The Untamed https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10554898/ (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10554898/)
* Khemjira https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33258229/ (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33258229/)
* The Paradise of Thorns https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32362515 (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32362515)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
1 May 2026
Science Fiction and Artificial Wombs
Today on Technoprogressive Hub I’m speaking with Dr. Evie Kendal, a bioethicist and public health scientist at Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology. She is the author of the provocative and influential monograph, Equal Opportunity and the Case for State Sponsored Ectogenesis (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137549877), in which she argued that artificial wombs are a potential requirement for genuine social and gender equality. In her latest volume, Science Fiction and the Ethics of Artificial Wombs (https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/science-fiction-and-the-ethics-of-artificial-wombs-9781350542990/) (Bloomsbury, 2025), Dr. Kendal pivots to the “imagination as a laboratory.” She critiques the traditional bioethical reliance on sterile clinical vignettes, arguing instead that the “thick” narratives found in science fiction—from the cautionary tales of Aldous Huxley to the liberating visions of Marge Piercy and Octavia Butler—provide a more robust framework for anticipating the social and political shocks of emerging biotechnologies.
Show Notes
Evie Kendal’s recent publications https://experts.swinburne.edu.au/6209-evie-kendal/publications (https://experts.swinburne.edu.au/6209-evie-kendal/publications)
Google Scholar page: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9x0hed0AAAAJ&hl=en (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9x0hed0AAAAJ&hl=en)
Equal Opportunity and the Case for State Sponsored Ectogenesis, Evie Kendalhttps://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137549877 (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137549877)
Science Fiction and the Ethics of Artificial Wombs, Evie Kendalhttps://www.bloomsbury.com/us/science-fiction-and-the-ethics-of-artificial-wombs-9781350542990/ (https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/science-fiction-and-the-ethics-of-artificial-wombs-9781350542990/)
“Artificial Womb: A Short History,” J. Hughes https://philarchive.org/rec/HUGAWA (https://philarchive.org/rec/HUGAWA)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
25 Apr 2026
Technoprogressive Politicians Emerge
As anxiety about data centers, AI-driven precarity, and tech oligarch authoritarianism mount, progressives have mostly responded with proposals to slow down AI. Bernie in particular has been channeling some of the existential risk concerns of Eliezer Yudkowsky, Geoffrey Hinton and Max Tegmark, and with Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, promoting regulation of data center construction.
On the other hand, California Congressman and US Presidential aspirant Ro Khanna, Congressional candidate Alex Bores, and Massachusetts state legislature candidate Jason Poulos have emerged with technoprogressive policy proposals, universal basic income and services, progressive taxation and sovereign wealth funds. Some Big Tech firms, like OpenAI, are also now pushing for UBI and technoprogressive policies, while others like Palantir have fully embraced a techno-libertarian/authoritarian policy agenda.
Show Notes
IEET Summer Course on Technoprogressive Worldbuilding (https://technoprogressives.substack.com/p/an-introduction-to-technoprogressive) - June 20-August 20, 2026 - Online The Technoprogressive Opportunity (https://www.meetup.com/london-futurists/events/314148857/) - Sept 19-20, 2026 - London UK https://www.meetup.com/london-futurists/events/314148857/
Ro Khanna’s “AI for the People” agenda https://www.thenation.com/article/society/ro-khanna-ai-democracy-blueprint/ (https://www.thenation.com/article/society/ro-khanna-ai-democracy-blueprint/)
Alex Bores’ AI Dividend https://www.axios.com/2026/04/20/alex-bores-ai-dividend-plan-wealth (https://www.axios.com/2026/04/20/alex-bores-ai-dividend-plan-wealth)
Alex Bores’ AI Policy Framework https://www.alexbores.nyc/files/Bores_AI_Framework.pdf
Jason Poulos, MA-4 Dem candidate platform https://poulos.house/ (https://poulos.house/#issues)
OpenAI’s Proposed Industrial Policy https://openai.com/index/industrial-policy-for-the-intelligence-age/ (https://openai.com/index/industrial-policy-for-the-intelligence-age/)
Alex Karp/Palantir’s mini-manifesto https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-manifesto-alex-karp-technological-republic-summary-2026-4 (https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-manifesto-alex-karp-technological-republic-summary-2026-4)
Technoprogressive Hub (https://technoprogressives.substack.com/podcast) is an IEET-sponsored podcast/vlog produced by J. Hughes. Also check out Bread and Robots (https://breadandrobots.substack.com/), an IEET-sponsored podcast/vlog produced by Matteo McDermant.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
13 Apr 2026
Aleksandra Przegalińska on the Future of Work
Today on Technoprogressive Hub we’re speaking with Aleksandra Przegalińska, a philosopher and social scientist of AI. Dr. Przegalińska is Vice Rector and the head of the Human-Machine Interaction Research Center at Kozminski University in Poland. Currently she is Senior Research Associate at the Center for Labour and Just Economy at Harvard University. She works on the future of work, humanoid and social robots, and wearable technologies. She is co-author of the book Collaborative Society and Debating Universal Basic Income.
Links
Collaborative Society (MIT Press), Aleksandra Przegalińska and Dariusz Jemielniak
Debating Universal Basic Income: Pros, Cons, and Alternative (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364506737_Debating_Universal_Basic_Income_Pros_Cons_and_Alternatives)s (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364506737_Debating_Universal_Basic_Income_Pros_Cons_and_Alternatives), Aleksandra Przegalińska and Robert Wright
Aleksandra Przegalińska on Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gkCrlTkAAAAJ)
Aleksandra Przegalińska on Researchgate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aleksandra-Przegalinska)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
10 Apr 2026
How Technoprogressive is Bernie/AOC's AI Data Center Proposal?
This week on Technoprogressive Hub, Eli, Matteo and J discuss the legislation proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders to restrict the building of AI data centers. “Opposing AI’ is Luddite, not technoprogressive, but the sentiment against oligarchs, AI and data centers is so strong now that we may need to accept some Luddite positioning to get the Left to promote desirable AI safety and regulation.
Links
“Seizing the Data Center Buildout for Grid Modernization” by Jane Flagal https://www.searchlightinstitute.org/research/seizing-the-data-center-buildout-for-grid-modernization/
“AI data center fight blurs political lines” Axios https://www.axios.com/2026/01/16/ai-data-center-fight-blurs-political-lines
“New Bernie Sanders AI Safety Bill Would Halt Data Center Construction” WIRED https://www.wired.com/story/new-bernie-sanders-ai-safety-bill-would-halt-data-center-construction/
“AI & robotics briefing: Data centres’ huge ‘water footprint’ becomes clear amid AI boom” by Katrina Krämer https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03768-y
“AI Data Centers: Big Tech’s Impact on Electric Bills, Water, and More” by Nicole Greenfield https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers-impact-on-electric-bills-water-and-more-a1040338678/
“AI data center” Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AI_data_center&oldid=1346973952
“AI, Data Centers, and the U.S. Electric Grid: A Watershed Moment” by Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs https://www.belfercenter.org/research-analysis/ai-data-centers-us-electric-grid
“Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez push bill to impose AI data center moratorium” by Matthew Daly https://apnews.com/article/data-centers-ai-electricity-sanders-aoc-65651bd28c3d911d18eeb46cd54f4c75
“Why is Everyone So Wrong About AI Water Use?” by Hank Green
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
24 Mar 2026
ProWorker AI?
ProWorker AI?
This week on Technoprogressive Hub, Eli, Matteo and J are discussing proposals for pro-worker artificial intelligence laws. Recently David Autor, Daron Acemoglu, and Simon Johnson and the UK Trades Union Council have proposed a set of regulatory and legal reforms to protect workers from automation and enhance human expertise. Arguably technoprogressive, will they only work briefly until AI surpasses human labor?
Links
“Building a pro-worker AI innovation strategy (https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/building-pro-worker-ai-innovation-strategy)” UK Trade Union Council
“Can A.I. Be Pro-Worker? (https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/can-ai-be-pro-worker)” by John Cassidy
“Can We Have Pro-Worker AI? Choosing a path of machines in service of minds (https://shapingwork.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Pro-Worker-AI-Policy-Memo.pdf)” by Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, and Simon Johnson (Hamilton Project)
“Building pro-worker artificial intelligence (https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w34854/w34854.pdf)” by Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, and Simon Johnson (NBER)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
19 Mar 2026
Mark Walker: Philosopher for the Future
On Technoprogressive Hub, Dr. J. spoke with philosopher Mark Walker about moral enhancement, universal basic income, theology and technoprogressivism. Mark Walker holds the Richard L. Hedden Endowed Chair in Advanced Philosophical Studies at New Mexico State University.
Links
Happy-People-Pills For All (https://www.amazon.com/Happy-People-Pills-Blackwell-Public-Philosophy-Book-ebook/dp/B00BP9JT7A)by Mark Walker
Free Money for All (https://www.amazon.com/Free-Money-All-Guarantee-Twenty-First/dp/1137471328) by Mark Walker
Mark Walker’s Papers (https://sites.google.com/view/markwalker/home)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
16 Mar 2026
The Pro-Human AI Declaration
The Pro-Human AI Declaration
On Technoprogressive Hub, Matteo and J react to the Pro-Human AI Declaration. Co-signed by major progressive and conservative organizations and leaders, does it finally represent a tenuous alliance of the populist Right with the progressive Left, united by anti-AI Luddism? Or is the Declaration actually a technoprogressive project dressed as Luddism?
Links
Pro-Human AI Declaration (https://humanstatement.org/)
“Inside the secret meeting that led to the AI political resistance” (https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/888841/pro-human-ai-declaration-fli) by Tina Nguyen
“Pro-human AI declaration brings together unlikely group calling for trustworthy tech” (https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/-human-ai-declaration-brings-together-unlikely-group-calling-trustwort-rcna261594) by Jared Perlo
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
14 Mar 2026
Post-Labor Economics
Post-Labor Economics With David Shapiro
David Shapiro is a futurist, author, social media producer, and one of the most prolific popularizers of post-labor economics — the argument that accelerating automation isn't a bug to be managed but a civilizational transition to be designed. Drawing on ideas ranging from universal basic income and sovereign wealth funds to the radical deflationary potential of AI-driven production, he makes the case that we are approaching a world where human labor is simply no longer the primary mechanism for distributing prosperity.
Find David at
Kickstarter (http://kickstarter.com/projects/daveshap/labor-zero) - Patreon (http://patreon.com/c/daveshap)- Substack (http://daveshap.substack.com) - Bluesky (http://daveshap.bsky.social) - X (http://x.com/DaveShapi) - LinkedIn (http://linkedin.com/in/daveshap) - Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/@DaveShap)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
11 Mar 2026
Toward a Technoprogressive Future
David Wood is a prominent British futurist, author, and pioneer of the smartphone industry as a co-founder of Symbian, the world’s first successful smartphone operating system. David serves as the Chair of London Futurists, one of the world’s largest foresight communities, as the Executive Director of the Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV) Foundation, and as a member of the IEET Board of Directors.
We critique both the "bioconservative" resistance to human modification and the "libertarian" approach to transhumanism, arguing instead for state-supported access to these tools to prevent deepening global inequality. Finally, the discussion underscores the necessity of international cooperation and institutional reform to manage the existential risks and ethical dilemmas posed by the accelerating pace of technological change.
David has authored or edited over a dozen books, including:
* Transcending Politics (https://transpolitica.org/projects/transcending-politics/): A roadmap for technoprogressive governance.
* Sustainable Superabundance (https://transpolitica.org/projects/abundance-manifesto/): A vision for a post-scarcity economy.
* The Singularity Principles (https://transpolitica.org/projects/the-singularity-principles/): A framework for managing the risks of artificial superintelligence.
* The Abolition of Aging (https://theabolitionofaging.com/): An argument for curing senescence as a medical priority.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
5 Mar 2026
From The End of History to the Age of AI
Join James Hughes and George Dvorsky for a timely discussion on the Technoprogressive Hub podcast, at the intersection of technology and progressive politics. They explore the Left's identity crisis in Canada, the politics of universal access to GLP-1 drugs, and the evolving landscape of AI regulation.
Links
“What Ever Happened to the Transhumanists?” (https://gizmodo.com/what-happened-to-transhumanism-in-2022-life-extension-1849199492) by George Dvorsky
George on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Dvorsky)
George at Gizmodo (https://gizmodo.com/author/georgedvorsky)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
28 Feb 2026
From Enshittification to Technofascism
Today on Technoprogressive Hub, Matteo and J unpack Cory Doctorow’s enshittification thesis, the emerging concept of technofascism, and the connection between them.
“The Age of Enshittification” (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-age-of-enshittification) by Kyle Chayka.
“The Enshittifcation of Government” (https://www.wicked7.org/the-enshittification-of-government/) by Christian Sarkar
“Technofascism comes to America” (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/techno-fascism-comes-to-america-elon-musk) by Kyle Chayka
“Technofascism: AI, Big Tech, and the new authoritarianism” (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-026-02862-9) by Mark Coeckelbergh
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
25 Feb 2026
RJ Eskow on Reclaiming Technology for the People
Richard (RJ) Eskow is a journalist and policy consultant, and host of The Zero Hour, a nationally syndicated radio and television program. He has served as a Senior Fellow with Social Security Works and the Campaign for America’s Future, and is a member of the IEET Board of Directors.
We talk about the challenge of promoting technoprogressive solutions to progressives who associate the technologies with billionaires and fascism. We address universal basic income, regulating AI, Buddhist approaches to the self and machine sentience, and Medicare4All.
Links:
RJ Eskow (https://www.rjeskow.com/bio) https://www.rjeskow.com/bio (https://www.rjeskow.com/bio)
The Zero Hou (https://thisisthezerohour.com/)r (https://thisisthezerohour.com/) https://thisisthezerohour.com/ (https://thisisthezerohour.com/)
RJ Eskow at Common Dreams (https://www.commondreams.org/author/richard-eskow)https://www.commondreams.org/author/richard-eskow (https://www.commondreams.org/author/richard-eskow)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
20 Feb 2026
Launching the Technoprogressive Hub Podcast
The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies is working to create a technoprogressive policy agenda. This Technoprogressive Hub podcast will be hosted by IEET Executive Director J. Hughes, a sociologist and ethicist, interviewing people about technoprogressive ideas. For this initial podcast Dr. J. is joined by Eli Zupnick, a Washington DC-based political operative, and Matteo McDermant who teaches in Albuquerque, New Mexico and produces the Bread and Robots podcast and Substack.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit technoprogressives.substack.com (https://technoprogressives.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
Inside a recent episode
Technoprogressives and Rogue AI
Published 3 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] One of the questions that came out of it for me is, you know, I was slow to the singularity concern because back when it first got going in the futurist community in the late nineties, um, I saw the, the people who were doing it, um, like Eliezer Yudkowsky as quirky. What? Kurzweil on the positive side. Well, Kurzweil on the positive side. I mean, Kurzweil, but he was talking about 2049, you know, and that, and so I was more Kurzweilian in my timeline because I thought, well, uh, If what we're talking about is the 2040s, then what the proximate risks are automation of jobs, surveillance, those kinds of things, the more approximate policy issues. […]
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