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Stephen Hughes
Bio :
I use insights from STS, psychoanalysis, and affect theory to understand how emotions shape relationships between science, technology, and society. I am particularly interested in emerging technologies such as neural interfaces, digital touch, and AI.
My research seeks to understand the affective dimension of a range of technopolitical issues such as conspiracy theories, misinformation, far right populism, technology hype, climate inaction, and militarisation. Emotional dynamics like fantasy, denial, identification, and meaning making are central to my work, helping me to explain the conflicts, irrationalities, purposes, and intensities in social relationships with technology.
I am currently writing a book - Affect, Emotion, and Feeling in Science Communication - to be published by Bristol University Press in 2026.
My most recent paper - 'Hearts and minds: The technopolitical role of affect in sociotechnical imaginaries' - is open access at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03063127241257489
My research seeks to understand the affective dimension of a range of technopolitical issues such as conspiracy theories, misinformation, far right populism, technology hype, climate inaction, and militarisation. Emotional dynamics like fantasy, denial, identification, and meaning making are central to my work, helping me to explain the conflicts, irrationalities, purposes, and intensities in social relationships with technology.
I am currently writing a book - Affect, Emotion, and Feeling in Science Communication - to be published by Bristol University Press in 2026.
My most recent paper - 'Hearts and minds: The technopolitical role of affect in sociotechnical imaginaries' - is open access at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03063127241257489