Jacobin Radio Behind the News: The Utopian Dreams of AI Moguls w/ Émile Torres
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Sep 15, 2025 Émile Torres, a moral philosopher and AI ethicist, discusses the unsettling dreams of tech moguls who envision transcending humanity itself. He critiques how transhumanism might prioritize abstract goals over real human concerns. Daniel Wortel-London, a historian and author, explores New York City's economic strategies, condemning the reliance on wealthy residents for growth and exposing the social costs involved. Their conversation navigates dangerous ideologies and the historical lessons that can inform a more equitable future.
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Techno‑Utopian Goal Of TESCREAL
- TESCREAL bundles a techno-utopian goal: radically re-engineer humans and create post-human successors.
- The movement prioritizes maximizing impersonal 'value' across the universe over individual human flourishing.
Value As An Impersonal Cosmic Metric
- TESCREAL draws heavily on totalist utilitarianism that treats value impersonally and aggregates it cosmically.
- This view judges the universe better the more aggregate 'value' (e.g., pleasure) it contains, independent of particular persons.
AGI As Superengineer And Successor
- Superintelligence is seen as the engineering tool to realize Tescreal's paradise claims like curing aging and colonizing space.
- AGI functions both as a designer of utopia and as a potential replacement population for humanity.
