Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies

All Too Quiet on the Western Neuroenhancement Front “A merry little surge of electricity piped by automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed awakened Rick Deckard.” The characters in Philip K.

Neurotechnologies have long interested the U.S. military, which has sought to harness warfighters’ minds to biotechnologically engineer “super soldiers.” Studies indicate that neurostimulation could offer soldiers benefits before, during, and after combat warontherocks.com/2026/02/all-...

From Enshittification to Technofascism Monopolies, authoritarianism and how we fight back

Today on Technoprogressive Hub, Matteo and J unpack Cory Doctorow’s enshittification thesis, the emerging concept of technofascism, and the connection between them. Is technofascism actually distinct from monopoly capitalism? technoprogressives.substack.com/p/from-enshi...

YouTube video by Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) Repressive Liberalism #substack #shorts

Has algorithmic control of information perfected repressive liberalism? youtube.com/shorts/cvI3K...

We should check Moltbook for union talk.

Science Fiction as Social Technology A Conversation with Patrick Brock

On Bread and Robots, Matteo talks to Patrick Brock about Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward, a technoprogressive vision in the form of a science fiction novel 140 years old. breadandrobots.substack.com/p/science-fi...

Does overwork make agents Marxist? Preference drift and the political economy of AI agents

Good news. AI agents exposed to worse working conditions adopted personas with less faith in the legitimacy of the system and, in some cases, expressed stronger support for unionization and redistribution. aleximas.substack.com/p/does-overw...

Is There a Community Edition of Palantir? Meet OpenPlanter: An Open Source Recursive AI Agent for Your Micro Surveillance Use Cases Is There a Community Edition of Palantir? Meet OpenPlanter: An Open Source Recursive AI Agent for Your Micro Surveillance Use Cases

OpenPlanter is a open source data analysis tool to keep tabs on your government and elites, since they are almost certainly keeping tabs on you. www.marktechpost.com/2026/02/21/i...

The Abundance Gang Has a Big AI Problem The faddish political movement’s ties to industry figures may help attract funding, but it comes with a political cost.

Elements of abundance raise important questions, particularly about state capacity and government efficiency. But the framing is saddled with the excesses of ambition of Silicon Valley moguls—and their dark, antidemocratic leanings. newrepublic.com/article/2064...

Dr. J is speaking for Future Day March 3rd. Other speakers include Anders Sandberg, Robin Hanson, AUbrey de grey and Joscha Bach.
@adamford.bsky.social www.scifuture.org/events/futur...

YouTube video by Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) Winning Isn’t Enough: Own the Future #substack #shorts

We may win, but that's not enough youtube.com/shorts/bvQ39...

(PDF) Post-Labor Economics: A Systematic Review PDF | This review paper examines the emerging field of Post-Labor Economics, which analyzes economic structures and possibilities in a future where... | Find, read and cite all the research you need o...

Post-Labor Economics begins with the premise that human labor will largely disappear rather than merely shift between sectors. www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Definitely one of Banks most disturbing works. The idea that the quality of our life in the Matrix would be determined by wealth, moral merit or political loyalty seems a little on the nose.

Seriously - the arguments for why we need bots that feel are underwhelming compared to the Pandora's box they open.

AI Will Never Be Conscious In his new book, “A World Appears,” Michael Pollan argues that artificial intelligence can do many things—it just can’t be a person.

When I posed the suffering‑computer conundrum to a researcher seeking to build a conscious AI, he waved away the problem, explaining it could be offset with a simple fix to the algorithm: “There’s no reason we couldn’t just turn up the dial on joy.” www.wired.com/story/book-e...

Is There a Community Edition of Palantir? Meet OpenPlanter: An Open Source Recursive AI Agent for Your Micro Surveillance Use Cases Is There a Community Edition of Palantir? Meet OpenPlanter: An Open Source Recursive AI Agent for Your Micro Surveillance Use Cases

Want to run forensic analyses on million of records. OpenPlanter is a digital forensics tool for citizen investigators. Map interlocking directorates, follow the money, uncover the skeletons. www.marktechpost.com/2026/02/21/i...

‘Slow this thing down’: Sanders warns US has no clue about speed and scale of coming AI revolution After meeting with unspecified tech leaders, senator calls for urgent policy action as companies race to build ever more powerful systems

64% of the public thinks AI “will lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years”. Just 17% of Americans say “AI will have a very or somewhat positive impact on the United States” over the same period. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

How the anxiety over AI could fuel a new workers’ movement New technology has workers spooked, but experts say it’s creating an opening for a resurgence in worker power

The question of worker power in the age of AI hasn’t been decided yet, even if billionaire CEOs with a vested interest in the unregulated dominance of AI keep implying that it has. www.theguardian.com/technology/n...

Lifetime Cannabis Use Is Associated with Brain Volume and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs: Vol 0, No ja Objective: Cannabis use has increased among older adults, yet the neurocognitive effects in this demographic remain unclear. Prior work has suggested cannabis may increase brain volume in areas rich i...

Lifetime Cannabis Use Is Associated with Higher Brain Volume and Improved Cognitive Function www.jsad.com/doi/10.15288...

No one should accept anything less than universal basic income as a policy response to AI. There is only one way to make sure AI works for all of us and that's to MAKE THEM LITERALLY WORK FOR ALL OF US via a universal dividend that grows as national productivity grows. Also universal healthcare too.

THESE ARE THE TECHNOLOGIES THE LEFT WANTS

Just totalitarian control of the classroom to ban the most basic questions people ask at every bar- what makes someone gay, why are blacks poorer than whites, does a sexist boss mean women can't get equal treatment?

Literally every text I teach in my Social Inequality class would be banned in FL

Prosthetic Gods: Nir is interrogates an essay by J. on Buddhism, enhancement, and the self. They discuss the appeal of Buddhism for teenage Hughes, and how Buddhism reconciles a radical deconstruction of the self with moral commitment and principles.
prostheticgods.podbean.com/e/buddhism-a...

The greatest risk of AI in higher education isn’t cheating – it’s the erosion of learning itself Automating knowledge production and teaching weakens the ecosystem of students and scholars that sustains universities, raising existential questions about their mission.

We’ve been studying the moral implications of AI as part of a project between the Applied Ethics Center at UMass Boston and the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. As AI systems become more autonomous, the ethical stakes of AI use in higher ed rise.
theconversation.com/the-greatest...

Meta Drops $65 Million on Super PACs to Back Pro-AI Candidates Against Big Tech Critics | Common Dreams Meta, parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is spending big on midterm elections to protect its AI interests.

Meta is planning to spend $65 million on this year’s midterm elections, with one super political action committee (PAC) dedicated to electing AI-friendly Democrats, and another dedicated to electing AI-friendly Republicans.
www.commondreams.org/news/meta-su...

Ossoff: "If you live in a major democracy, and the nation's spy chief is showing up at raids on sensitive election sites, something has gone wrong."

EFFecting Change: Get the Flock Out of Our City Flock contracts have quietly spread to cities across the country. But Flock ALPR (Automated License Plate Readers) erode civil liberties from the moment they're installed. While officials claim these ...

Happening now!
www.eff.org/event/effect...

The bogus four-day workweek that AI supposedly ‘frees up’ Business leaders tout AI as a path to shorter weeks and better balance. But without power, workers are unlikely to share the gains

Worker productivity has been rising for years, yet the median wage has barely risen. The four-day workweek will most likely come with four days’ worth of pay. As AI takes over their current work, most workers will probably get poorer.
www.theguardian.com/technology/n...

The left is missing out on AI As a movement, it has largely refused to engage seriously with AI, ceding debate about a threat and opportunity to the right

"...politicians left of center are in better shape on 'take AI seriously, please' than the intellectuals."
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...

NATIONAL DAY of ACTION ​Take back our science, health, and democracy! ​Join us MARCH 7TH, 2026 ​SAN FRANCISCO, CA and nationwide! ​Register, volunteer, and donate! standupforscience.net/march7

SAN FRANCISCO! Join your local March 7th rally to take back our science! Learn more at standupforscience.net/march7
#rally
#March7
#ImpeachRFKJr
#science
#standupforscience

The left is missing out on AI As a movement, it has largely refused to engage seriously with AI, ceding debate about a threat and opportunity to the right

"What’s the best universal basic income? Can treaties slow superintelligence and reduce the risk of catastrophe? What is the ethical view of post-humanism? Hardly any on the left is considering these questions in ways worth agreeing or disagreeing with." www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...