This Machine Kills

We chat about the growing genre of personal literary essays about AI where the literati at places like the New Yorker pen long essays laying out their thoughts, worries, and ultimate embrace of AI. But as with most personal essays, we end up learning more about the foibles and anxieties of the authors than anything material about the thing they are writing about. Big shout out to the excellent piece in N+1 we discuss in this episode, which turns the sights of literary criticism on this genre of “AI-and-I” essays.

••• What’s Up With Peter Thiel’s Obsession With the Antichrist? https://newrepublic.com/article/200471/peter-thiel-obsession-antichrist-religion

••• Large Language Muddle https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/the-intellectual-situation/large-language-muddle/#rf3-55362

••• Two Days Talking to People Looking for Jobs at ICE https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-51/politics/yanis-two-days-talking-to-people-looking-for-jobs-at-ice-2/

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

We discuss the assassination of Charlie Kirk and its potential role as a catalyst of further violence and blowback by right-wing forces who want to avenge a martyr, by left-wing groups who want to kick off years of lead, or perhaps as simply another immense yet ephemeral moment in a strange world where “our whole life is surrounded by an immense accumulation of spectacles.” Then we segue expertly to talking about a new essay on “the weaponized world economy,” which adds great detail and depth to our analysis of the geoeconomic dynamics and conflicts that drive global politics, markets, finance and technology.

••• What We Know About the Hyundai-LG Plant Immigration Raid in Georgia https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/us/politics/hyundai-plant-immigration-raid-georgia.html

••• The Weaponized World Economy https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/weaponized-world-economy-farrell-newman

••• BRICS in 2025 https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/brics-in-2025/

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

Join us as we dive into the life and mind of Nicole Shanahan, a tech billionaire who is now the self-anointed demon hunter of Silicon Valley and Burning Man. There is soul-corrupting psycho-politics everywhere for those with eyes to see.

••• ‘Demonic’: Silicon Valley Billionaire Blasts Burning Man https://www.thenerdreich.com/demonic-silicon-valley-billionaire-blasts-burning-man/

••• The Baby Died. Whose Fault Is It? https://www.wired.com/story/the-baby-died-whose-fault-is-it-surrogate-pregnancy/

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

With the announcement of a new $100 million Super PAC for pro-AI political influence, lines are being drawn between different styles of AI boosterism in Silicon Valley. There are those who worship at the altar of AGI and believe any other position is an intolerable impediment to innovation. There are those who want the tech sector to focus on using existing AI systems for everyday economic applications. And there are those who see AI as a techno-realpolitik power struggle over who is gonna kick whose ass: America or China? And then there’s Eric Schmidt, who holds all three positions — and writes op-eds touting each one — at the same exact time.

••• Silicon Valley Launches Pro-AI PACs to Defend Industry in Midterm Elections https://www.wsj.com/politics/silicon-valley-launches-pro-ai-pacs-to-defend-industry-in-midterm-elections-287905b3

••• Silicon Valley Is Drifting Out of Touch With the Rest of America https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/opinion/artificial-general-intelligence-superintelligence.html

••• AI Could Usher In a New Renaissance https://www.wsj.com/opinion/agi-could-usher-in-a-new-renaissance-physics-math-econ-advancement-ed71a02a

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

We got a fun one as we chat about a contemptuous profile of the fringe futurists, biohacker kooks, wealthy technocratics, and wannabe philosopher kings who have combined their vast resources and grand dreams to pursue a single mission: immortality.

••• How to Live Forever and Get Rich Doing It https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/11/how-to-live-forever-and-get-rich-doing-it

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

We chat about the disappointing launch and critical reception of GPT-5 and what this massive claims-reality gap tells us about how an overactive industry, propelled by grand social forces of capital accumulation, are ultimately producing “normal” or “mid” technologies. Plus, we get into the productivity paradox that plagues AI.

••• Does AI really boost productivity at work? Research shows gains don’t come cheap or easy https://theconversation.com/does-ai-really-boost-productivity-at-work-research-shows-gains-dont-come-cheap-or-easy-263127

••• Does AI actually boost productivity? The evidence is murky https://theconversation.com/does-ai-actually-boost-productivity-the-evidence-is-murky-260690

••• GPT-5 is a joke. Will it matter? https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/gpt-5-is-a-joke-will-it-matter

••• GPT-5 Should Be Ashamed of Itself https://www.realtimetechpocalypse.com/p/gpt-5-is-by-far-the-best-ai-system

••• A.I. as normal technology (derogatory) https://maxread.substack.com/p/ai-as-normal-technology-derogatory

••• What If A.I. Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This? https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/what-if-ai-doesnt-get-much-better-than-this

••• The Tech Fantasy That Powers A.I. Is Running on Fumes https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/opinion/ai-tech-innovation.html

••• How AI, Healthcare, and Labubu Became the American Economy https://kyla.substack.com/p/how-ai-healthcare-and-labubu-became

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

[Apologies for the tardiness, Jereme is moving house, that shit takes a lot of time and work, so it delayed production.] We first chat about how Trump’s Transportation Department will be “unleashing American drone dominance,” then we get into the thick morass of the Trump family’s ongoing entanglements with the crypto industry—and how both sides of this partnership are deeply, financially dependent on each other.

••• US proposes new drone rules that could lead to Starbucks, Amazon deliveries https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-proposes-new-drone-rules-that-could-lead-starbucks-amazon-deliveries-2025-08-05/

••• Southwest Airlines jet dives as a fighter jet crosses its path near Los Angeles https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/25/us/southwest-fighter-jet-close-call

••• Trump’s Finances Were Shaky. Then He Began to Capitalize on His Comeback. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/us/trump-finances-crypto.html

••• The ‘Trump Pump’: How Crypto Lobbying Won Over a President https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/us/politics/trump-crypto-lobbying.html

••• Does Trump’s Biggest Crypto Backer Really Exist? https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/trump-crypto-world-liberty-financial-aqua-1-foundation/

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

In this episode, Ed chats with Paris Marx and Brian Merchant about artificial intelligence and the political coalitions behind its development in the United States and abroad. Are we all living in the same AI bubble? Europe, China, and America all have different visions for what their ideal global value chain looks like when it comes to AI—its raw material inputs, chips, data centers, invisible laborers, regulatory standards, data sets, models, and applications. Whose vision will win out and why?

••• Come to Jathan’s book launch in Melbourne on August 14th at 6:00pm! There will be fun conversation, an open bar, and books for sale! Register for free here: https://events.humanitix.com/sadowkski-the-mechanic-and-the-luddite-launch

Paris’s recent newsletters:

••• https://www.disconnect.blog/p/why-should-the-us-decide-who-can

••• https://www.disconnect.blog/p/why-canada-needs-to-build-a-public

••• https://www.disconnect.blog/p/jd-vance-champions-tech-imperialism

Brian’s recent newsletters:

••• https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/trumps-ai-action-plan-is-a-blueprint

••• https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/dont-forget-what-silicon-valley-tried

••• https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/this-is-the-gentle-singularity

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

We chat for a bit about Trump’s AI Action Plan – more to come on this next week – before getting into broader questions about Silicon Valley imperialism, American force projection and soft power through AI, the endlessly convenient competition against China, the impossibility of winning an AI arms race with no defined finish line, among other things. Plus a new addition to our tech freak watch.

••• Come to Jathan’s book launch in Melbourne on August 14th at 6:00pm! There will be fun conversation, an open bar, and books for sale! Register for free here: https://events.humanitix.com/sadowkski-the-mechanic-and-the-luddite-launch

••• Trump's AI Action Plan is a blueprint for dystopia https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/trumps-ai-action-plan-is-a-blueprint

••• Trump Plans to Give A.I. Developers a Free Hand https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/technology/trump-ai-executive-orders.html

••• Why Big Tech is threatened by a global push for data sovereignty https://restofworld.org/2025/big-tech-data-sovereignty/

••• OpenAI signs deal with UK to find government uses for its models https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/21/openai-signs-deal-with-uk-to-find-government-uses-for-its-models

••• The metamorphosis of Shaun Maguire https://www.businessinsider.com/shaun-maguire-silicon-valleys-most-maga-firebrand-sequoia-mamdani-2025-7

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

We are joined by Amba Kak and Sarah Myers West — co-directors of the AI Now Institute — to discuss their excellent new Landscape Report on Artificial Power. We discuss Trump’s AI Action Day and his administration’s use of AI as an alibi to justify further consolidating wealth and power into a few hands, while making vague promises about economic growth and technological progress, without actually delivering any material benefits to everyday people. We then get into the AI Now Institute’s Roadmap for Action which lays out a bold, urgent, and practical policy agenda for creating and enforcing regulations on AI.

••• Artificial Power: 2025 Landscape Report | AI Now Institute https://ainowinstitute.org/publications/research/ai-now-2025-landscape-report

••• People's AI Action Plan https://peoplesaiaction.com/

••• Come to Jathan’s book launch in Melbourne on August 14th at 6:00pm! There will be fun conversation, an open bar, and books for sale! Register for free here: https://events.humanitix.com/sadowkski-the-mechanic-and-the-luddite-launch

Standing Plugs:

••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite

••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble

••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)