Tech Won't Save Us

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.

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.

Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss whether the AI bubble is about to burst and how bosses are deploying AI tools to kill jobs and degrade work. Brian Merchant is the author of Blood in the Machine and writes a newsletter of the same name. 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: Brian has a series called AI Killed My Job with existing entries on tech workers and translators. Brian encourages listeners to check out the work being done by the National Writer’s Union, Translators Against the Machine, and Lucile Danilov at Loc’d and Loaded. You can contact Brian directly by emailing aikilledmyjob@pm.me A Stanford paper published this week explores the effects of AGI on employment.

Paris Marx is joined by Kate Mackenzie and Tim Sahay to discuss the geopolitics behind China’s investments in green tech and electrification, and how it presents the prospect of a new development model based on renewables instead of fossil fuels. Kate Mackenzie is an adjunct fellow at Macquarie University. Tim Sahay is co-director of the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab at Johns Hopkins University. They are the co-writers of the Polycrisis newsletter from Phenomenal World. 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: Tim and Kate wrote about the potential role of the BRICS in future geopolitics. The Financial Times explored the implications of China as an electrostate. China leads the growing electric vehicle market, ⁠by a lot⁠. Pakistan imported 17 gigawatts of solar panels in 2024 alone, as Africa is in the midst of its own surge in Chinese solar panel imports. Trump’s policies are pushing China and India to ⁠strengthen ties⁠.

Paris Marx is joined by Cecilia Rikap to discuss how countries’ dependence on US tech companies is harming them and why they need to get serious about digital sovereignty. Cecilia Rikap is Associate Professor in Economics at University College London and Head of Research at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. 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: reclaiming digital sovereigntystep downcould not guarantee data sovereigntyAlexandre de Moraes is the Brazilian judgefrom the ICCAlexandre de MoraesSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Paolo Benanti to discuss what Pope Leo XIV’s statements on AI, the publications under Pope Francis, and the ethics of AI from a theological perspective. Paolo Benanti is an author, academic, and priest. He teaches at the Pontifical Gregorian University and was an advisor to Pope Francis on artificial intelligence and technology ethics. 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: wrote aboutsent a messageAntiqua et novaa short breakdownSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Matt Pearce to discuss how Google’s use of generative AI is sending far less traffic to all manner of websites, but especially news publications, and what that might mean for the future of journalism. Matt Pearce is Director of Policy at Rebuild Local News and a former reporter at the Los Angeles Times. 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: newsprint to outlive the hyperlinkAI scrapers are driving traffic away from traditional sitesnews fatigueSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire’s Islamophobic attack on Zohran Mamdani, what it tells us about the state of tech’s politics, and how Donald Trump is enriching himself through crypto scams. Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the author of the forthcoming book 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: Aqua 1 Foundation’s mysterious cryptoGENIUS Actopenly corruptmade millions of dollarsCrypto is comingSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Dan McQuillan to discuss the global push by governments to rapidly adopt AI at all costs and how citizens can critically rethink our dependence on these technologies while imagining a collective future that benefits everyone. Dan McQuillan is a lecturer at Goldsmiths College, University of London and the author of Resisting AI. 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: decomputing as resistanceall in on data centre developmentwater shortagesrapidly adoptingwith a little help from industry leadersinspiring exampleSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Nathan Grayson to discuss the latest round of Microsoft layoffs and how the company’s ambition to remake the video game industry around its streaming service has had significant consequences. Nathan Grayson is a co-founder of Aftermath and 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: use AIpressuring staff to use AIunclear whether Game Pass is even profitableSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Laleh Khalili to discuss how the United States uses its control of key technologies to shift global power dynamics, and how that specifically plays out in the Middle East. Laleh Khalili is Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and author of the forthcoming book Extractive Capitalism. 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: Iran’s accusations towards MetaTech executivesThe Global Interiorused an AI-assisted gunSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Yangyang Cheng to discuss how Huawei became one of the most powerful companies in China and how current geopolitical narratives distract from the issues at the heart of surveillance capitalism in the US and China. Yangyang Cheng is a Research Scholar in Law and Fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center. 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: China FileThe House of HuaweidiscussedSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Nitasha Tiku to discuss how AI companies are preying on users to drive engagement and how that’s repeating many of the problems we’re belatedly trying to address with social media companies at an accelerated pace. Nitasha Tiku is a technology reporter at the Washington Post. 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: messing with people’s mindspeople needing AI friendsfacinglawsuitsSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Laís Martins to discuss the recent enforcement measures against tech companies like X and Rumble in Brazil, how the country is grappling with the overreach of US tech companies, and the wider discussion about tech policy in Brazil. Laís Martins is a technology reporter at The Intercept Brasil. 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: Rumble's fight against the Brazilian Supreme CourtAI data centersspied onused and supportedSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Karen Hao to discuss how Sam Altman’s goal of scale at all costs has spawned a new empire founded on exploitation of people and the environment, resulting in not only the loss of valuable research into more inventive AI systems, but also exacerbated data privacy issues, intellectual property erosion, and the perpetuation of surveillance capitalism. Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and the author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI. 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: first journalistenvironmental impactshuman costsThe New York Times Why We're Unlikely to Get Artificial General IntelligenceSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Sam Biddle to discuss how Silicon Valley is shamelessly courting government military contracts, using tactics to silence employee dissent and normalize the situation to the public, and what it all means for the future of military geopolitics. Sam Biddle is a senior technology reporter at The Intercept. 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: wrote aboutembrace of nationalisminterviewedWiredteamed upwon’t give upDefense ReformationAmerican DynamismSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Casey Johnston to discuss why she pared back on social media, made her smartphone much dumber, and what she learned about how bodies are treated online through her fitness journey. Casey Johnston is the creator of the She’s A Beast newsletter and author of A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting. 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: DIY Dumbphone Methodreducing social media usedetected when teenage girls deleted photosSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna to discuss the harms of generative AI, how the industry keeps the public invested while companies flounder under the weight of unmet promises, and what people can do to push back. Emily M. Bender is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at University of Washington. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Institute. They are the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want. 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: New York Magazineincreasingly widespread use of ChatGPTSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Tim Fernholz to discuss how Elon Musk’s influence in the White House is shaping the US Space Program, why he’s pushing NASA toward Mars instead of the Moon, and whether the Starship rocket is in trouble. Tim Fernholz is a senior reporter at Payload Space and the author of Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race. 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: Donald Trump’s NASA budgetJared Isaacman’s confirmation hearingWall Street Journalget NASA to refocus on Marscut NASA’s science budget by 47%running into serious problemsSupport the show

Paris Marx is joined by Julia Carrie Wong to discuss Elon Musk’s recent opposition to empathy, how it comes out of the Christian right, and the relationship it has to previous discussions of longtermism. Julia Carrie Wong is a features writer at The Guardian. 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 Eric Wickham. Also mentioned in this episode: reframing empathyinterviewed Elon Musk about worker injuriespushed backSupport the show