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Special Guest: Dr Nathalie Maréchal
Special Guest: Dr Nathalie Maréchal
Dr. Maréchal is the managing policy director of Northeastern University's Institute for Information, the Internet and Democracy, and a Technology & Human Rights Fellow at the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights at Harvard University.
EPISODE DETAILS
EPISODE DETAILS
November 4th, 2026
49 mins 6 secs
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Dr. Nathalie Maréchal studies technofascism and how we fight back. A core aspect of her work is contesting AI hype and inevitability narratives, notably those that hinge on the notion of "artificial general intelligence" or "superintelligence." In September she published an explainer on What policymakers and the public need to know about the cult of AI in Tech Policy Press, in which she unpacks some very peculiar beliefs that are prevalent in the AI industry and, she argues, are central to the political project to dismantle liberal democracy.
If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via internationalculticstudies.org).
EPISODE LINKS
EPISODE LINKS
What Policymakers and the Public Need to Know About the Cult of AI — by Dr Nathalie Maréchal, Tech Policy Press, 18 September 2026
Nathalie Maréchal, PhD. — Dr Maréchal's website
The TESCREAL bundle: Eugenics and the promise of utopia through artificial general intelligence — by Timnit Gebru & Émile P. Torres, First Monday Vol. 29, No. 4, 1 April 2024
More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity — by Adam Becker, Hachette, May 2025
Ex-Google Insider | Why AI CEOs & Whistleblowers Are Both Warning You About AI — The Tea in Conversation with Timnit Gebru, 9 October 2026
A Former AI Doomer Reveals a Dark Truth — Cal Newport interviews Emile Torres, 8 October 2026
The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy — by Gil Durán, Simon & Schuster, September 2026
End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World — by Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor, September 2026
Tech Policy Press — further articles by Dr Nathalie Maréchal
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