Tech Won't Save Us
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.
Episodes
Governments are prioritizing data centers at the expense of communities and the planet, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Matt Haugen joins Paris Marx to discuss how national strategies are dismantling environmental protections while enriching a handful of megacorporations, and what an alternative agenda could look like.
Matt Haugen is Research and Editorial Manager at the Climate and Community Institute.
The podcast is made ...
Canada has tech bros too, like Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke who has a new idea to link voting rights to how much income tax you paid. Rachel Gilmore joins Paris Marx to discuss how Canadian tech companies like Shopify are pushing terrible right-wing policy ideas while influencing Mark Carney’s agenda.
Rachel Gilmore is an award-winning independent journalist and creator of the Bubble Pop newsletter.
The podcast is made in partnership...
As Big Tech’s power continues to grow, it's more important than ever to understand how companies use their control over cloud infrastructure and services to shape more than just the digital world. Cecilia Rikap joins Paris Marx to discuss how these networks of corporate power operate, including how they are systematically used to influence global politics, the economy, and how society views the world.
Librarians are working harder than ever to support their neighbourhoods — including by teaching and promoting digital literacy. Hannah Cyrus and Alison Macrina join Paris Marx to discuss the role of library workers in the digital landscape, including how they’re helping patrons navigate privacy basics and artificial intelligence, and how the tech industry is making their jobs harder.
We are often told that resisting technological development is impossible and ‘progress’ is inevitable, but history says otherwise. Thomas Dekeyser joins Paris Marx to discuss how understanding radical resistances of the past can help us rethink our modern relationship with technology and reshape our vision of the future.
Thomas Dekeyser is a lecturer in human geography at the University of Southampton, author of Techno-N...
Last time it was the crypto industry; now the AI industry is stepping up to join it. Molly White joins Paris Marx to discuss how the tech sector is spending big to buy influence in the US midterm elections to ensure new laws serve its interests over those of the public.
Molly White is the creator of Tech Influence Watch and Web3 is Going Just Great. She writes the Citation Needed newsletter.
The podcast is made in partnership with Th...
Public ire toward AI keeps growing as the data center boom continues to hit people’s pockets. Chris Person joins Paris Marx to discuss the soaring cost of consumer electronics, including why prices are unlikely to fall anytime soon, and how people can experiment with homespun cyberpunk tech.
Chris Person is a co-founder of Aftermath and makes Highlight Reel.
The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by K...
As tech companies race to build hyperscale data centers, communities are coming together to push back. Saul Levin joins Paris Marx to discuss how rising opposition to data center construction is uniting people across party lines and prompting broader conversations around what infrastructure people want instead.
Saul Levin is community organizer and host of The Hum.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech,...
The Canadian government is going all in on AI, without understanding the real effects of the technology. Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood joins Paris Marx to discuss Mark Carney’s push for large-scale investment in AI, despite being unable to describe how adoption will work, how Canadians will benefit, and what policies will be implemented to mitigate growing risks and harms.
The Uber model is finally coming for healthcare. Katie J. Wells joins Paris Marx to discuss how much the healthcare gig apps resemble Uber’s rollout, why they aren’t being properly regulated, and the effects they’re having on staff and patients alike.
Katie J. Wells is a Senior Fellow at AI Now Institute and a co-author of Disrupting D.C.: The Rise of Uber and the Fall of the City.
SpaceX is finally going public, and it’s bad news for anyone who wants to rein in Elon Musk. Sean O’Kane joins Paris Marx to discuss the flimsy sci-fi ideas Elon Musk is using to justify the company’s massive valuation and the way corporate governance rules are shifting to give him even more power.
Sean O’Kane is a senior reporter at TechCrunch.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, i...
Generative AI is making its way into many parts of society, and schools are no different. Tom Mullaney joins Paris Marx to discuss how generative AI has been adopted in K-12 education and the many concerns it presents for students and teachers.
Tom Mullaney is a high school social studies teacher in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the g...
Polymarket and Kalshi are everywhere. But what are they doing to society? Jathan Sadowski joins Paris Marx to discuss the rise of prediction markets and their negative social effects as they push the global economy closer toward the financialization of everything.
Jathan Sadowski is an Associate Professor at Monash University. He is the author of The Mechanic and the Luddite and co-hosts This Machine Kills.
What happens when a government goes all in on AI? It creates some huge vulnerabilities. Will Dunn joins Paris Marx to dig into how the UK government is using chatbots to write laws without public consultation and why it isn’t asking the hard questions about the risks of that growing reliance on US technology.
Will Dunn is the business editor at the New Statesman.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, i...
Paris Marx is joined by Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian to discuss their new book Muskism which explores how Elon Musk exemplifies a new economic system shaping our lives, similar to Fordism in the twentieth century.
Ben Tarnoff & Quinn Slobodian are the authors of Muskism. Ben is a writer and technologist based in Massachusetts and the author of Internet for the People. Quinn is professor of international history at Boston Univ...
Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss Apple’s announcement that Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO, including his history and legacy, and what may be next for the company.
Brian Merchant is the author of The One Device and 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 d...
Paris Marx is joined by Karl Bode to discuss how tech journalists coupled with corporate interests are irresponsibly boosting the profile of tech CEOs, further damaging public trust in institutional journalism and highlighting the need for publicly funded media organizations.
Karl Bode is a freelance reporter and writes The Fine Print newsletter.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wide...
Paris Marx is joined by Dara Kerr to discuss how Elon’s decision to prioritize aesthetics over safety has created a safety crisis causing people to burn alive in their Cybertrucks and other Tesla vehicles.
Dara Kerr is a technology reporter at Guardian 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. S...
Paris Marx is joined by Amanda Mull to discuss the effects of constantly “monitoring the situation” through custom news, social, or live feeds, including higher rates of anxiety and disconnection, and what can be done to recalibrate.
Amanda Mull is a senior reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek and writes the Buying Power column.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society...
Paris Marx is joined by Sam Biddle to discuss what it means for data centers to become targets in a war, and how Silicon Valley is aiding the US war against Iran.
Sam Biddle is a technology journalist 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.
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