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The Political Economy of AI

The founding idea of Generative Futures: technologies are malleable, not inevitable. Their impact is the product of political choices, institutions, and material conditions, which means a different future is possible.

Essay 3 Jun 2026

The radicalism of Positive Alignment

Could it go further?

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Essay 27 Apr 2026

Who is building the agent economy?

Infrastructure born contested

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Essay 25 Feb 2026

Why is AI shale-shaped?

The material contingency of the AI boom

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Essay 29 Jan 2026

What are Generative Futures?

Escaping techno-determinism

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Podcast 7 Jan 2026 · 47 min

The Age of Emergency - With Jonathan White

Why we're living in a time of temporal claustrophobia

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Essay 22 Dec 2025

The History of Progress

A review of Carl Frey's new book

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Podcast 11 Nov 2025 · 68 min

Compute is not the answer to AI sovereignty with Hamish Low

Interdependence vs independence

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Generative Futures

A project dedicated to escaping techno-determinism and thinking through how to build progressive technological futures.

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© 2026 Phil Bell · Generative Futures The political economy of AI · Built for a progressive technological future