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Audio versions of this episode can be found here on Substack, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
My guest today is Juan Sebastián Pinto.
Juan Sebastián Pinto is a designer and writer currently working at the intersection of civil rights and technology. His writing appears in The Guardian, Forbes, Dwell Magazine, and Substack. His work and advocacy has been featured in WIRED, NPR, The Washington Post, Democracy Now!, and the BBC.
In the past Juan led content/creative for various leading AI startups and worked and collaborated with many architecture firms as a strategist, writer, and graphic designer. He completed his BA and MA in English at the University of Pennsylvania.
Juan also runs Ziggurat here on Substack—be sure to subscribe!
And here’s a post that will give you a sense of what you can find on Ziggurat:
By now, the company Palantir has probably entered your field of view—but many still don’t quite get the scope and scale of what they’re building and why. Juan, who formerly worked at Palantir and other AI companies, has emerged as leading advocate for a people’s movement to regulate AI and promote liberatory futures. So listen/watch on to understand into the invisible dangers of Palantir’s tools and what we can do to keep them (and other harmful aspects of AI rollout) in check.
Another episode you might like:
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CREDITS: This podcast is edited and produced by Adam Labrie and me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also directed, shot, and edited the video version of the podcast, which is available on YouTube. The podcast is presented by Reality Studies. If you appreciate the work I’m doing, please subscribe and share it with someone you think would enjoy it.
Find more episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures. Past conversations include Taylor Lorenz, Lisa Messeri, Legacy Russell, William E. Rees, Renée DiResta, and more. Here is another recent episode with Peter Brannen on his book The Story of CO2 is the Story of Everything:




















