Few political figures of the last decade have taken a more unusual path than Andrew Yang. An entrepreneur turned presidential candidate, Yang first rose to national prominence during the 2020 election cycle, when his campaign centered on a once-radical proposal: universal basic income as a response to automation and technological disruption. At the time, his warnings that artificial intelligence could reshape the labor market seemed speculative to many voters. Today, as companies rapidly adopt AI tools and white-collar layoffs mount, Yang’s predictions feel less theoretical.
In the years since his presidential run and a subsequent campaign for New York City mayor, Yang has shifted his focus toward structural political reform through the Forward Party while remaining an active commentator on the economic and social consequences of emerging technologies. He continues to argue that the United States must rethink both its economic safety nets and the design of its democratic institutions if it hopes to navigate the upheavals ahead.
The Hudson Valley has become an important base for Yang. A resident of New Paltz, he launched the Hudson Valley Ideas Festival as a forum for bringing thinkers, writers, technologists, and comedians together to discuss the forces reshaping society. The gathering reflects Yang’s broader belief that solutions to large systemic challenges often begin at the local level—with communities creating spaces where ideas can be exchanged face to face.
Ahead of this year’s festival at the Rosendale Theater on April 25, Yang spoke with Chronogram about artificial intelligence, political reform, and why strengthening human connections may be more important than ever.
Sitting here now in 2026, do you feel like the future you were warning about has begun to arrive?
Andrew Yang: Yeah, it really has. You can see workers getting laid off from corporations in record numbers, and recent college graduates are struggling to find jobs in ways they previously didn’t. So the future is now. I wish I’d been wrong, but unfortunately, I fear I was right.
You’ve talked for years about universal basic income. Beyond that, what other responses should we be thinking about?
Andrew Yang: I’m actually working on a book on this topic called The End of Normal. I still think universal basic income would be the most direct and helpful thing we could do as a country. But there are also micro and macro responses. People ask me all the time: What can an individual do? My advice is surprisingly simple—put down your phone, go outside, look up, call your mom, be good to your friends and neighbors, and try to build within your community. Even if there’s a rising tide of disruption—which there will be—the right answer is to strengthen your boat and the people in it.
When you say community, are you talking about towns like Kingston or New Paltz?
Andrew Yang: It might actually be smaller than that. It could be your apartment building, your running club, your family. Certainly the locality matters—you want your town to be strong and healthy. But it really starts with the individual level. One of the things you learn over time is that you can control your own behavior and attitude much more effectively than you can control the circumstances around you. When you start there, sometimes it expands outward.
If you had to explain the moment we’re living through to someone 50 years from now, what would you say is the biggest change underway?
Andrew Yang: We’re going through the greatest technological transformation in the history of the species. My friend Tristan Harris says we have Stone Age brains, medieval institutions, and godlike supercomputers in our pockets—and we’re not prepared for what that means. Fifty years from now people will be used to artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, and other things that still feel unbelievable to us in 2026.
You’ve been an entrepreneur, a presidential candidate, and now a political reform advocate. How do you think about your role in this moment?
Andrew Yang: I think about it every day. I’m doing media appearances regularly and trying to get the word out. Hosting the Hudson Valley Ideas Festival is part of that. It’s an example of starting close to home and doing what you can. It’s also a forum where people who can see around the corner a bit can share ideas and hopefully be helpful. I’m very open-minded about the role I’m meant to play.
Tell me about this year’s Hudson Valley Ideas Festival. How did you assemble the lineup?
Andrew Yang: I reached out to a number of prominent authors and thinkers, and I was pleased that almost all of them said yes. People like John McWhorter, the linguistics professor; Steven Rathje, who studies human–computer interaction; Jim Kwik, who focuses on mindfulness and cognitive performance; and Alexis Gay, a brilliant comedian and independent creator. It’s a fascinating mix of people. The fact that they’re coming to Rosendale simply to share ideas with the community is something I’m very excited about.
If the festival has an unofficial theme this year, what would you say it is?
Andrew Yang: The theme is “staying human.” I have a 13-year-old son who told me recently that he thinks he’s more likely to have an AI girlfriend than a human girlfriend. That’s the kind of thing parents actually have to talk about now. Staying human is a little bit harder than it used to be.
You’ve also shifted much of your focus toward political reform through the Forward Party. Why do structural reforms like ranked-choice voting matter so much to you?
Andrew Yang: People describe me as a math guy. Right now Congress has an approval rating of about 15 percent, and incumbents have a reelection rate of roughly 94 percent. In that system, ordinary Americans are essentially locked out. The only way out is to change the rules of the game—things like open primaries and ranked-choice voting so more voices can actually be heard.
Politics feels increasingly tribal. Is that a cultural problem, a media problem, or a structural problem?
Andrew Yang: People are tribal by nature. But the tribalism gets amplified by bad incentives in our political and media systems. The biggest reward factor is social media. Negativity drives engagement, and engagement drives revenue. But if you put 50 Americans in a room together—especially in a place like the Hudson Valley—you find they agree on most things. It’s only in the funhouse mirror of the media and political systems that it seems like half the country is the enemy.
If AI and remote work reshape the economy, what happens to places like the Hudson Valley?
Andrew Yang: I actually think regions like the Hudson Valley could become more important. We’re going to see a kind of flattening. Commercial districts and office buildings may become less valuable, but smaller regions that offer quality of life and community could see growth.
Having run for office yourself, what did you learn about the American political system that most outsiders don’t understand?
Andrew Yang: The incentives inside the system shape behavior more than people realize. Even well-intentioned people enter politics and end up being twisted by those incentives. I experienced a version of that myself as a candidate. At this point the system is designed more to perpetuate itself than to serve ordinary families.
