Tech or Treat: A Haunted Futures Improv Special

Oct 31, 2025

This Halloween special dives into eerie tech futures with supernatural twists. Imagine a haunted algorithm resurrecting old social media posts—sentimental glitch or creepy harassment? What if smart mirrors could reveal alternate versions of yourself? The duo explores the creepy concept of neural interfaces that could trap you in nightmares. Plus, they ponder the implications of AI-driven digital afterlives—therapeutic or invasive? Get ready for a blend of humor and spine-chilling speculation, perfect for both tech lovers and Halloween fans!

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INSIGHT

Digital Seances Reawaken Old Accounts

Social platforms and dormant AI can resurrect past personas, creating a yearly digital 'seance' that feels both therapeutic and creepy.
Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard note this blurs mourning, nostalgia, and automated intrusion into living users' feeds.

ANECDOTE

Suzanne Somers Example Of Digital Replicas

Sean Leahy recounts Suzanne Somers' husband creating a digital replica that he said was indistinguishable from her.
The story illustrates how people already pay for AI-based afterlives and struggle emotionally with them.

INSIGHT

Authentic Human Voice Gets Lost

As AI-generated content dominates, authentic human messages risk being dismissed as anomalies.
Leahy imagines a 'last human text message' lost among AI noise, unnoticed and unbelieved.

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It’s Halloween in the future — and things are getting weird. In this special Modem Futura mini-episode, Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard unleash a spooky edition of their improv game “Futures Improv: Tech or Treat.” Fueled by AI-generated prompts, the duo riffs on haunted algorithms, mirrors that remember, and nightmare-mode neural interfaces. What happens when defunct social-media bots resurrect long-dead posts to tag the living? Could a smart mirror one day show you not your reflection, but who you might have been in another timeline? And what if a brain-computer interface glitch traps you inside your worst fear?

Equal parts eerie and thought-provoking, this Halloween special blurs the line between speculative fiction and real emerging tech. From discussions of digital afterlives to emotional manipulation through neuro-stimulation, Sean and Andrew turn classic horror tropes into futures-thinking experiments — all with the trademark humor and curiosity that define Modem Futura. Whether you’re a technologist, futurist, or Halloween enthusiast, this bite-sized episode invites you to imagine what’s lurking just beyond the edges of innovation.

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Modem Futura is a production of the Future of Being Human initiative at Arizona State University. Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. To learn more about the Future of Being Human initiative and all of our other projects visit - https://futureofbeinghuman.asu.edu

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: @ModemFutura

Host Bios:

Sean M. Leahy, PhD - ASU Bio
Sean is an an internationally recognized technologist, futurist, and educator innovating humanistic approaches to emerging technology through a Futures Studies approach. He is a Foresight Catalyst for the Future of Being Human Initiative and Research Scientist for the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and Senior Global Futures Scholar with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.

Andrew Maynard, PhD - ASU Bio
Andrew is a scientist, author, thought leader, and Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions in the ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society. He is the founder of the ASU Future of Being Human initiative, Director of the ASU Risk Innovation Nexus, and was previously Associate Dean in the ASU College of Global Futures.

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