Ali Alkhatib: On techno-optimism
I’ve got a longer draft in the works, but I don’t think that’s going to become a blog post, so I figure it might be useful to publish something here and solicit feedback, or just plant a flag in the ground that this was a thing I did. Last week Several weeks ago I gave a talk at Wayne State University titled “the uncanny pessimism of techno-optimism”. In this post I’m going to breeze through some of the stuff I talked about and give a sense of what’ll be coming. Eventually.
A Thesis on the History of the 21st Century: Technocracy, AI, and the End of the World
Reviewing a trio of books by a sextet of ruling-class ideologues, Mathias Fuelling finds an ambient anxiety hanging over a perceived crisis in American capitalism, with visions of bolstering a Silicon Valley-led technocracy fueled by AI investment reflecting American fears over the dawn of a "Chinese Century."
The Techno-Optimist Manifesto | Andreessen Horowitz
We are told that technology is on the brink of ruining everything. But we are being lied to, and the truth is so much better. Marc Andreessen presents his techno-optimist vision for the future.
On technological optimism and technological pragmatism
"There are no guarantees that things are going to turn out very well for anyone.”
Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology
A witty, often terrifying that chronicles our transform…
Technorealists, the silent majority? - open self
you might find yourself standing in the unremarkable center
Optimistic Computing
I recently made two new friends: Abhinav Omprakash and Dawn Walker. Abhinav said I’m an optimist and I should write about it. Dawn said I shouldn’t try to coin any new terms. I should know better, but this essay follows Abhinav’s recommendation — and credits Dawn, in the very likely event I should have followed her advice instead. I have been alive for approximately four decades. Each of those decades was witness to its own fun brand of computering.
Selective Optimism: a critique of AI 2040
Some context for this post: I’ve been working part-time as a consultant for the AI Futures Project over the last year.
Should Scientists and Engineers Run Society?
Alex Komoroske on Twitter / X
What if technology didn’t feel so… hollow?Some friends and I just released a manifesto about a world where tech leaves us feeling nourished (along with an evolving list of theses about how we can build it)https://t.co/sfKBVZ2zXr— Alex Komoroske (@komorama) December 5, 2025
The scent of Musk: Power, charisma and paranoia in Silicon Valley
Making Sense of Open-Source: Ideals, Reality, and What's on the Horizon - December, 3 2025 | Notion
🗓️ Luma event description
Trevor Paglen and Holly Herndon on Making Art with AI and What the Discourse Is Missing
The artists talk process, slop, and why optimism and pessimism don’t quite cover it.
Technorealists, the silent majority? · Openness Praxis
you might find yourself standing in the unremarkable center