Tech Won't Save Us

Paris Marx is joined by Joanne McNeil to discuss her new novel dealing with the human labor behind self-driving cars and the challenges of being a good tech critic.

Joanne McNeil is the author of Wrong Way and has written for Dissent Magazine, New York Magazine, and The Nation.

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 produced by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Joanne has written about the need for tech critics that aren’t insiders and tech media warming back up to Facebook.
• Paris wrote about the recent scandal around GM’s Cruise division.
• In 2014, Ursula Le Guin was awarded the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and gave a speech that skewered capitalism.
• Joanne’s fictional tech founder was in part inspired by Holacracy and Dan Price.
• The fantasy of self-driving cars is highly reliant on remote drivers.

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Paris Marx is joined by Mike Isaac to discuss the drama around Sam Altman being temporarily removed from OpenAI, what it means for the future of the company, and how Microsoft benefits from its partnership with the company.

Mike Isaac is a technology reporter at the New York Times. He’s also the author of Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber.

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 produced by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Mike summarized the OpenAI-Sam Altman affair with his colleagues in the New York Times. He's been reporting on it since it began.
• Paris wrote about the Sam Altman-Microsoft relationship in Disconnect.
• Semafor reported that in 2018, Elon Musk tried to take over OpenAI but was pushed out instead.
• Forbes reporter Sarah Emerson went through Emmett Shear’s old tweets — and yikes.

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Paris Marx is joined by Marwa Fatafta to discuss the ongoing Israeli campaign in Gaza, the importance of social media for sharing what’s happening on the ground, and what listeners can do to support peace and Palestinian rights.
 
Marwa Fatafta is a Palestinian digital rights advocate and researcher. She is Access Now’s Policy and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

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 produced by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• 1 in 200 people in Gaza have been killed. >4,600 of the 11,100 dead are children.
• An Israeli government minster called their actions the “Gaza Nakba.”
• Instagram inserted “terrorist” into translations of Palestinian bios and removed hospital bombing photos for nudity. Whatsapp generated stickers of gun-wielding children for Palestinian terms.
• Facebook’s terrorism algorithms removed non-violent Arabic content 77% of the time.
• 7amleh tracked hate speech in Hebrew on social media. WSJ reported Meta’s Hebrew hate speech classifier doesn’t actually work.
• FAIR detailed Western media bias in reporting on Israel-Palestine.
• Access Now published a report on the internet shutdowns happening in Gaza.
• CNN and other Western outlets allow the Israeli army to review their Gaza footage.
• Al Jazeera, Channel 4, NYT, and WaPo found holes in Israel’s hospital explosion story about.
• Israel has been actively creating and spreading disinformation.
• The Israeli parliament passed a bill criminalizing the “consumption of terrorist materials” as dozens are arrested for social media posts.

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Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, why he was found guilty, and how his negative traits are common across Silicon Valley.
 
Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. He’s also the host of The Naked Emperor. Find more of Jacob’s work on jacobsilverman.com.

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 produced by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jacob recently wrote about the Sam Bankman-Fried trial for Air Mail, The Nation, and his newsletter.
• Elizabeth Holmes reported to prison in May for an 11-year sentence for swindling investors in Theranos.
• Sam Bankman-Fried is facing further charges in a second trial scheduled for March 11. He’s also due to be sentenced for the guilty charges in the first trial on March 28.
• Caroline Ellison revealed the leaked balance sheet that ultimately tanked FTX and Alameda was one of seven fakes made at the behest of Bankman-Fried.
• Max Chafkin and Hannah Miller wrote about the role of Bankman-Fried’s parents in Bloomberg Businessweek.
• Binance is in crisis in the face of a serious Department of Justice investigation.

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After building an empire, now Elon Musk wants us to believe he deserves it. He built a myth of his genius, and now he’s using the same to seed harmful ideologies into the public that justify how he hoards wealth to pursue the projects he should be central to humanity’s future, leaving behind a ton of suffering in their wake. But is Musk’s future really the one we want? This is episode 4 of Elon Musk Unmasked, a special four-part series from Tech Won’t Save Us.
 
 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.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.
 
Also mentioned in this episode:

• Astrotopia author Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Human Extinction author Émile P. Torres, science fiction author Annalee Newitz, The Information reporter Julia Black, New York Times Johannesburg bureau chief John Eligon, Insider senior correspondent Linette Lopez, and environmental compliance expert Eric Roesch were interviewed for this episode.
• Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, and Liftoff by Eric Berger were the books cited.

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Elon Musk has built himself a corporate empire, but how did he do it? He’s styled himself at as the cofounder of Tesla, but the real innovations came from its actual founders before he took the credit and spun a ton of deceptive tales he couldn’t follow through on to boost its share price. Ultimately, his interventions have had some serious consequences. This is episode 3 of Elon Musk Unmasked, a special four-part series from Tech Won’t Save Us.

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.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Insider senior correspondent Linette Lopez, CNBC.com journalist Lora Kolodny, Ludicrous author Edward Niedermeyer, transportation journalist Alissa Walker, and climate journalist Amy Westervelt were interviewed for this episode.
• Ludicrous by Edward Niedermeyer, Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, and Road to Nowhere by Paris Marx were the books cited.
• A full transcript can be found on the show's official website.

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Elon Musk is man, but he’s also a character that he crafted and which the media blew up to unimaginable scale. Without the media, Musk would not be the man he is today because that myth — and the way it exaggerated some of his traits and virtually hid others — was essential to his success. This is episode 2 of Elon Musk Unmasked, a special four-part series from Tech Won’t Save Us.

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.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Science fiction author Annalee Newitz, CNBC.com journalist Lora Kolodny, Ludicrous author Edward Niedermeyer, freelance journalist Karl Bode, and Insider senior correspondent Linette Lopez were interviewed for this episode.
• Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, The Founders by Jimmy Soni, and The PayPal Wars by Eric Jackson were the books cited.
• A full transcript can be found on the show's official website.

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Elon Musk wasn't always the influential billionaire he is today. To begin our dive into the myth of Musk, we need to go back to his origins — to find out where he came from, what inspired him, and how he became the man he is today. Those details set the foundation for the three episodes to come. This is episode 1 of Elon Musk Unmasked, a special four-part series from Tech Won’t Save Us.

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.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Insider senior correspondent Linette Lopez, New York Times Johnannesburg bureau chief John Eligon, CBC documentary producer Ira Basen, and science fiction author Annalee Newitz were interviewed for this episode.
• Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, and The Founders by Jimmy Soni were the books cited.
• A full transcript can be found on the show's official website.

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Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the start of the criminal trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, what we know about the case, and whether he’s likely to be found guilty.
 
Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. He’s also the host of The Naked Emperor. Find more of Jacob’s work on jacobsilverman.com.

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.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jacob wrote about the trial on his newsletter.
• Molly White has also written a preview of what’s to come in the Bankman-Fried trial.
• Sam Bankman-Fried leaked Caroline Ellison’s diaries to the New York Times. Soon after, his bail was revoked and he was sent to prison for over witness tampering.
• Sam Bankman-Fried was interviewed by Matt Levine on Odd Lots and basically admitted yield farming was a Ponzi scheme.
• Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh have all pleaded guilty and are expected to be collaborating with the government against Bankman-Fried.
• Bankman-Fried’s parents are also being sued over the millions they got from FTX.

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Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss the history of the Luddites, why we have their story all wrong, and what we can learn from them today.
 
Brian Merchant is the technology columnist at the LA Times and the author of Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech.

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.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• An excerpt from Brian’s book was published in Fast Company. He also explained why he’s a Luddite in the Washington Post.
• In 2014, Brian wrote “You’ve Got the Luddites All Wrong.”
• On October 12, we’ll be holding a Luddite Tribunal in New York City.
• We also mentioned the work of David Noble, Eric Hobsbawm, and E. P. Thompson.

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