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Paris Marx

Silicon Valley wants to shape our future, but why should we let it? Every Thursday, Paris Marx is joined by a new guest to critically examine the tech industry, its big promises, and the people behind them. Tech Won’t Save Us challenges the notion that tech alone can drive our world forward by showing that separating tech from politics has consequences for us all, especially the most vulnerable. It’s not your usual tech podcast.

Tech Won't Save Us

Paris Marx is joined by Nathan Grayson to discuss how Saudi Arabia is buying its way into the sports, comedy, and video game industries in order to broaden its investment portfolio and launder its international reputation.

Nathan Grayson is a cofounder of Aftermath and the author of Stream Big: The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behind the Screen.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
Aftermath launched a refreshed website. Check it out!

 
Nathan wrote about the problems with the Saudi-EA deal.

 
GeoGuessr users made their maps unplayable in protest against the game’s announced participation in the Esports World Cup.

 
Here’s a more comprehensive list of Saudi Arabia’s game investments.

 
And here’s a history of Saudi Arabia’s investments in sports.

Saudi Arabia is Using Games to Improve Its Image w/ Nathan Grayson

Paris Marx is joined by Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear to discuss the many ways cars have negatively affected society, how tech companies seek to entrench those problems, and what can really be done to improve mobility in our communities.

Doug Gordon is a TV producer and writer. Sarah Goodyear is a journalist and author. They are the co-hosts of The War on Cars and co-authors of Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
Fighting Traffic by Peter D. Norton

 
Livable Streets by Donald Appleyard

 
Your Six-Year-Old by Louise Bates Ames

 
Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam

Why We Need a War on Cars w/ Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear

Paris Marx celebrates the 300th episode of Tech Won’t Save Us by sharing his reasons to push for digital sovereignty and get off US tech. On top of explaining how that dependence gives the US governments and its tech companies power over us, Paris also provides tips of alternative services to consider migrating to.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
Here is the Disconnect post offering a comprehensive list of options for getting off US tech.

 
Producer Kyla seconds the recommendation of the library as an alternative to streaming, audiobooks, big box bookstores, and for plenty of other benefits (including inviting us to be more active community members).

 
Trump’s sanctions against chief ICC prosecutor Karim Kahn has delayed proceedings, and resulted in Microsoft cancelling his email service.

 
Here’s more information about when JD Vance annoyed most of Europe by comparing their governments to authoritarian regimes.

 
Learn more about Alexandre de Moraes and his efforts to regulate US tech in Brazil.

We Need to Cut Our Dependence on US Tech. Here’s How to Start.

Paris Marx is joined by Joanne McNeil to discuss the proliferation of delivery bots and robotaxis and how they recycle disproven claims about how technology will improve transportation.

Joanne McNeil is a freelance writer and the author of Wrong Way and Lurking: How a Person Became a User.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
Joanne wrote about delivery bots and robotaxis for the New York Review of Architecture.

 
She’s doing an event in Los Angeles discussing social media on November 1.

 
Uber’s driverless car killed a pedestrian, and the company scapegoated the backup driver. 

 
Sleep Dealer is a sci-fi movie by Alex Rivera.

 
A GM Cruise self-driving car hit a pedestrian and dragged them 20 feet before stopping.

 
Even Chuck E. Cheese is getting into the ghost kitchen business.

Silicon Valley Doesn’t Know What Makes a Good City w/ Joanne McNeil

Paris Marx is joined by Chris Gilliard to discuss how tech CEOs are pushing a new generation of AI-powered smart glasses by promising they’ll be stylish and indispensable to workers in a desperate attempt to convince us we should want their luxury surveillance gadgets.

Chris Gilliard is the co-director of the Critical Internet Studies Institute and is working on a book called Luxury Surveillance.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
Harvard students used Meta glasses to dox strangers.

 
Apple tinkered with its AI shortly after Trump was inaugurated.

 
AI may start answering 911 calls.

 
Studies are suggesting that AI may be making doctors worse at diagnosing cancer.

 
Rob Horning has written about overreliance on AI.

 
Chris mentioned Emily Bender and her analogy comparing LLMs to plastic.

Smart Glasses Are Ushering In An Anti-Social World w/ Chris Gilliard

Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss Jacob’s new book Gilded Rage, which explores the radicalization of Silicon Valley leaders, who are exerting their growing influence to shape our society for the worse.

Jacob Silverman is an independent journalist and the author of Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
Jacob recently wrote about Musk’s latest dodgy business dealings.

 
The world continues to wonder at Trump’s ability to get away with corruption and scandal.

 
Saudi Arabia has been involved in Silicon Valley more than folks may have realized (prior to the EA buyout, anyway).

The Gilded Rage of Tech Billionaires w/ Jacob Silverman

Paris Marx is joined by Tina Nguyen to discuss the divisions within the American far-right between the Trump administration, the wider MAGA movement, and the tech executives trying to show they’re on their side.

Tina Nguyen is a senior reporter at The Verge and author of The MAGA Diaries: My Surreal Adventures Inside the Right-Wing (And How I Got Out).

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
Tina wrote about visiting NatCon and Charlie Kirk’s memorial event.

 
Tina also wrote about Peter Thiel’s ongoing obsession with the antichrist.

 
Jared Isaacman was revoked as a candidate to lead NASA, highlighting the rifts Tina is discussing. 

 
Elon Musk is talking about starting a new political party.

The Growing Divide Between MAGA and Big Tech w/ Tina Nguyen

Paris Marx is joined by Ed Niedermeyer to discuss the mission to turn Elon Musk into the world’s first trillionaire, Tesla’s growing interest in making robots instead of cars, and how other automakers are coming for the EV market it once dominated.

Ed Niedermeyer is the author of Ludicrous and co-host of the Autonocast.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
Tesla is paying out a series of lawsuits, and the California DMV has called for a one-month ban on Teslas being driven in the state.

 
Curious to see what Tesla’s current Optimus robot is like?

 
Is Tesla the world’s biggest meme stock?

 
Tesla lied about data relating to a fatal accident until a hacker found it.

 
ICE raided a Hyundai plant earlier this month.

Is Tesla Still a Car Company? w/ Ed Niedermeyer

Paris Marx is joined by Caroline Haskins to discuss what Palantir actually does and the growing influence it has within the US government and many large corporations.

Caroline Haskins is a staff writer at Wired.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
Peter Thiel is giving a series of lectures on the Antichrist.

 Caroline wrote about Palantir and getting confronted by the company at a conference.

 
Paris mentioned a connection between Paypal and the founding of Palantir; a founding story for Palantir is that the concept for the company grew from the desire to use the fraud-detection software designed for PayPal to build counterterrorism software.

 
Palantir is having a much better financial year than the rest of Silicon Valley.

Palantir is Thriving Under Trump w/ Caroline Haskins

Paris Marx is joined by Aaron Benanav to discuss his vision for a multi-criterial economy and how it would alter the type of technology our society creates. It’s a plan to center human experience through democratic discourse while driving true social and technological innovation.

Aaron Benanav is an Assistant Professor at Cornell University and the author of Automation and the Future of Work.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
The two parts of Aaron’s essay on a Multi-Criterial Economy were published in the New Left Review.

 
Learn more about the briefly discussed Bangladesh youth led revolution.

A New Economy Will Deliver Better Technology w/ Aaron Benanav

Paris Marx is joined by Alex Rivera to discuss his 2008 film Sleep Dealer and how it imagined exploitative technologies being implemented in a future Mexico of hardened borders and limited migration.Alex Rivera is a filmmaker and digital media artist whose work explores themes of globalization, migration, and technology. His feature films include Sleep Dealer and The Infiltrators. Follow Alex on Twitter as @Alex_Rivera.🚨 T-shirts are now available!Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.Also mentioned in this episode:

You can rent or buy Sleep Dealer from the official website.

Paris wrote about Sleep Dealer and what it illustrates about technology for Jacobin.

Border walls are still going up around the world.

Smart tech is often designed to hide the human labor that makes it work.

Kiwibot delivery robots are driven by Colombian workers making $2/hour.

Support the show

“Sleep Dealer” and the Border Politics of Tech w/ Alex Rivera

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