Published by This Machine Kills
A podcast about technology and political economy /// Agitprop against innovation and capital /// Hosted by Jathan Sadowski and Edward Ongweso Jr., Produced by Jereme Brown /// Hello friends and enemies Listen anywhere that fine podcasts are distributed. Subscribe at patreon.com/thismachinekills to get premium episodes every week.
Listen on Apple Podcasts9 min
First we get into a very circular (the strongest shape in nature) deal between Nvidia, OpenAI, and Softbank to finance a $250 billion 10-gigawatt data center complex, powered by a natural gas plant built by the US and Japanese governments, on a decommissioned uranium-enrichment site in Ohio, which will be filled by a further $350 billion of chips sold and financed by Nvidia. All very normal stuff. Then we revisit the hysteria over retail theft, why every pharmacy is a prison, and the admission by companies that “maybe we cried too much” about a problem that doesn’t exist. Vibes are a very powerful thing. ••• Jathan’s new paper: Deconstructing the Machine Learning Value Chain https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7084259 ••• Nvidia in Talks With OpenAI to Guarantee $250 Billion Financing for Data Center https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/nvidia-in-talks-with-openai-to-guarantee-250-billion-financing-for-data-center-3dd6eae3 ••• We used to be able to buy things in this country https://dannykatch.substack.com/p/we-used-to-be-able-to-buy-things ••• British Police Built a Sprawling Crime-Prediction Machine. Some Results Couldn’t Be Trusted https://www.wired.com/story/british-police-built-a-sprawling-crime-prediction-machine-some-results-couldnt-be-trusted/ Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
1 hr 25 min
We chat with Matt Haugen and Jesse Goldstein from the Climate + Community Institute about a new report they co-authored laying out how the US is engaging in industrial policy for AI development in ways that are often indirect, inconsistent, and interpersonal, but ultimately are configured around supporting a specific configuration of (venture) capitalist strategy for intensive, rapid development, all while making political economic choices that prioritize anti-social infrastructure over social well-being and environmental protections. ••• AI First: How the Federal Government is Prioritizing AI Over People and Planet https://stopgreedbuildgreen.climateandcommunity.org/posts/ai-first ••• Honey, We Need To Talk About Venture Socialism https://www.butthistime.com/p/honey-we-need-to-talk-about-venture-5cb Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
10 min
We first open a door by talking about the great new ‘right to repair’ ruling from the FTC, which is the result of a long fight against rentier monopolies and digital enclosure, and should be precedent for expanding these battles and rights much further. We then tune back into hell by discussing how the AI-driven promises of convenience, personalization, and agentic servants are bribes meant to make people accept their own dependence, exploitation, and subservience to tech capital. Finally, a quick look at yet another way the AI boom is destroying life in San Francisco. ••• Farmers Finally Get a John Deere Right to Repair Agreement That Doesn’t Screw Them Over https://www.404media.co/farmers-finally-get-a-john-deere-right-to-repair-agreement-that-doesnt-screw-them-over/ ••• John Deere Must Let Owners Repair Farm Equipment, Settlement Says https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/business/john-deere-ftc-right-to-repair.html ••• Meta Patents AI Device That Tracks Your Emotions, Watches You Take Your Meds https://www.404media.co/meta-patents-ai-device-that-tracks-your-emotions-watches-you-take-your-meds/ ••• ‘Hysteria’ Grips San Francisco’s Housing Market as A.I. Wealth Pours In https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/technology/san-francisco-home-sales-openai-anthropic-ipo.html ••• In San Francisco, Even $180,000 Tech Salaries Are No Longer Enough https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/technology/san-francisco-tech-salaries.html Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
1 hr 25 min
We chat all about the growing market for humanoid robots. What are the financial incentives and social ideologies driving the creation of technologies designed to directly mimic (and replace) humans—even though such designs make little sense as engineering choices? What kind of society makes these technologies attractive for investors and consumers, but also ultimately doomed to fail as solutions for real problems? ••• Are Humanoid Robots Ready to Be Deployed? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/06/are-humanoid-robots-ready-to-be-deployed ••• The Repo Man Coming for Your Ride https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/29/the-repo-man-coming-for-your-ride Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
7 min
Miracle cures! Get your miracle cures! What the hell are peptides? Why is this class of black/gray market drugs on everyone’s lips and being injected into everybody’s veins? Where did this multi-billion market suddenly come from? We take a look at the political economy of peptides, the pernicious consumerization of healthcare, and the potential consequences of this surging peptidal wave for society. ••• The Billion-Dollar Peptides Gold Rush https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-peptide-legalization-gold-rush/ Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
1 hr 33 min
(Sorry we’re a little late; blame producer pneumonia) We open the nightmare world folder and go through a series of stories about technology, surveillance, and policing. Cops using AI to generate “evidential material” in criminal cases, cops using Flock automated license plate readers to stalk people, cops using Flock to wrongfully arrest folks, and then a wildcard: billions of images from the Pokemon Go databases are being used to develop geospatial models for robots and drones. We then end the episode with a fun bonus interview with the creator of Machines of Bone and Blood, a new D&D book that offers a fantastical retelling of the Luddite rebellion in the necro-industrial revolution. ••• Machines of Blood and Bone https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/somanyrobots/machines-of-bone-and-blood-necroindustrial-adventures-in-5e ••• Derbyshire police officer investigated over AI-generated ‘evidential material’ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/12/police-officer-under-criminal-investigation-over-alleged-use-of-ai ••• Cops Keep Getting Arrested for Using Flock to Stalk People https://www.404media.co/cops-keep-getting-arrested-for-using-flock-to-stalk-people/?ref=weekly-roundup-newsletter ••• A Flock license plate reader linked a San Diego man to a violent crime. He was five miles away. https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2026/06/07/a-flock-license-plate-reader-linked-a-san-diego-man-to-a-violent-crime-he-was-five-miles-away/ ••• Pokémon Go players unwittingly contributed to tech with military drone uses https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/pokemon-go-players-unwittingly-contributed-to-tech-with-military-drone-uses/ Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
7 min
If every billionaire is a policy failure, then the world’s first trillionaire is a far more serious omen of collapse. We spend this episode talking about Muskism, reflecting on an economy that is racing in two very opposite directions, and considering the broader public (non-)response and social ramifications of the Age of the Trillionaire. ••• Elon Musk Becomes the World’s First Trillionaire https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/technology/elon-musk-trillionaire.html ••• Wages Are Falling. Wealth Is Surging. No Wonder Americans Are Unhappy. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/13/business/economy-trillionaire-wealth-wages.html ••• Muskism as Fordism https://lpeproject.org/blog/muskism-as-fordism/ ••• Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers https://the-decoder.com/landmark-german-ruling-declares-googles-ai-overviews-are-googles-own-words-and-makes-it-liable-for-false-answers/ Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
1 hr 18 min
“Welcome to the Church of Ludd, it’s nice to see you join our congregation. Please pick up a pamphlet as you walk in, which explains how to set up your religious exemption from using AI at your workplace.” — After a fun story about religious refusal of AI, we then chat about the various policy proposals being put forth by folks like Sam Altman and Bernies Sanders which outline how public wealth funds, equity stakes in AI companies, and dividend payments can buy the public’s trust in these technologies. ••• She won a religious exemption from using AI at work. The Pope's remarks could fuel similar appeals. https://www.businessinsider.com/worker-got-religious-exemption-using-ai-at-work-2026-6 ••• Senior U.S. Officials Eye Government Shares in AI Giants https://www.notus.org/technology/trump-ai-stake-openai ••• Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Sam Altman are all talking about public ownership in AI https://apnews.com/article/sam-altman-ai-bernie-sanders-trump-public-ownership-772224f9cd138eb79d3ef3336858a5d5 Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
5 min
It’s a news roundup! First, in a duo of stories designed to make Ed jealous, Australia has seized 20 million illegal vapes at the border since January 2024, while the Australian attorney general has announced a $1.4 billion lawsuit against 3M over the harmful effects of PFAS or “forever chemicals”. Second, Anthropic files a massive IPO, with OpenAI and SpaceX looking to do the same soon. We chat about the implications of $3-4 trillion worth of liquidity events happening in the tech sector at the same time. Third, the pope wrote an encyclical, the butlerian jihad is catholic (always has been), and the christian tech-right is crashing out. Fourth, congrats, dear listener, on being marked as an “anti-tech extremist”! ••• Australian Border Force seize 20 million illegal vapes since January 2024 as crackdown continues https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-29/border-force-seize-illegal-vapes-crackdown/106734164 ••• Australia Sues 3M for $1.4 Billion Over ‘Forever Chemicals’ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/business/australia-lawsuit-3m-psas.html ••• Anthropic Files to Go Public, Setting Stage for Huge I.P.O. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/technology/anthropic-ipo.html ••• Magnifica Humanitas | Pope Leo XIV https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html ••• US Law Enforcement Warns of ‘Anti-Tech Extremism’ as AI Hatred Grows https://www.wired.com/story/us-law-enforcement-warns-of-anti-tech-extremism/ ••• Local Police Targeted Data Center Opponent, Law Firm Alleges https://heatmap.news/plus/the-fight/hotspots/alabama-nebius-data-center-police Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
1 hr 12 min
We chat with Gaby Del Valle—policy reporter at the Verge—about her excursion to the Border Security Expo, the new hardware and software being sold to fight the endless battle at the border, and how the border has now expanded to encompass everywhere and everybody. Plus we discuss Gaby’s research into the white supremacist ideologies of eugenicist environmentalism that have motivated immigration politics for a very long time. ••• The Border is Everywhere https://www.theverge.com/report/928726/border-security-expo-cbp-ice-dhs-surveillance ••• Trump is Waging a Silent War on Legal Immigration https://www.theverge.com/policy/932865/trump-legal-immigration-denaturalizations-uscis Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
4 min
We chat about how so many people keep getting seduced into thinking chatbots are conscious, or just keep hedging their bets in some kind of Cyber-Pascal’s Wage, or just keep lying to prop up an industry and culture they are invested in perpetuating. Then we argue why, rather than just be eroded into acquiescence by an overwhelming tsunami of AI, rather than being bowled over and washed out to sea, you should never give these systems and their booster the benefit of the doubt. Never accept that these forces of production are inevitable, undeniable, and actually already existing. You should first always say, “Prove it.” •••When Dawkins met Claude Could this AI be conscious? https://unherd.com/2026/05/is-ai-the-next-phase-of-evolution/ ••• When Claudia met Claudius https://unherd.com/2026/05/when-claudia-met-claudius/?edition=us ••• Why We Keep Tricking Ourselves Into Thinking A.I. Is Conscious https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/opinion/ai-consciousness.html ••• The Atheist and the Machine God https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/09/opinion/artificial-intelligence-consciousness-richard-dawkins.html ••• The Prehistory of A.I. Slop https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/25/the-prehistory-of-ai-slop ••• Too Much Is Happening Too Fast https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/05/too-much-happening-too-fast/687177/ Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
1 hr 25 min
We’re going in for a threepeat – it’s Data Centers 3, as we continue with our analysis of the data center industry, the opposition to these hyperscale projects, and the real impacts on social communities and natural ecosystems. We get into the industry playbook of using “counterinsurgency tactics” to undermine opposition to these data centers and the ideological playbook of effective altruists treating these projects like they are just 4X strategy games. Plus how Mr. Wonderful is terraforming Utah by building a massive natural gas power plant to fuel a hyperscale data center right on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. ••• ‘So much worse than I even thought’: Utah’s ‘hyperscale’ data center could create massive heat island near Great Salt Lake https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2026/05/07/utahs-data-center-could-create/ ••• The fight against AI datacenters isn’t just about tech – it’s about democracy https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/08/ai-datacenters-democracy ••• Rolling the DICE on Data Center Development https://www.earthcharterindiana.org/climate-chronicles/dice ••• Google developers significantly misstate carbon emissions of proposed UK datacentres https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/09/google-developers-significantly-misstate-carbon-emissions-of-proposed-uk-datacentres Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
7 min
We go in for a second helping on analysing the opposition to data centers. After further deconstructing the arguments against opposition, we do what none of them actually do: pay attention to the actual material conditions on the ground. We discuss reporting on why real communities are opposed to these infrastructure projects and how these projects are being pushed through in black-boxed, stonewalled, fast tracked ways that are designed to ignore, dismiss, and override anybody who isn’t immediately and blindly onboard. ••• ‘The Most Bipartisan Issue Since Beer’: Opposition to Data Centers https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/us/politics/liberals-conservatives-data-centers.html ••• In Indiana, an anatomy of data center opposition https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/in-indiana-an-anatomy-of-data-center-opposition/ Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
1 hr 29 min
We deconstruct the confused arguments – from the left – against moratoriums for data centres. These positions set up a false dichotomy between either pausing or governing technology, they start from the assumption that a politics of refusal or opposition is an illegitimate position to hold, and they depend on rhetorical leaps and pretzel logic to make arguments that end up ceding more ground to corporate power than they gain for leftist goals. ••• Democratic Governance of AI Is the Real Solution https://jacobin.com/2026/04/ai-data-center-moratorium-democracy ••• What Will It Take to Get A.I. Out of Schools? https://www.newyorker.com/culture/progress-report/what-will-it-take-to-get-ai-out-of-schools Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
8 min
We dig into two shocks in international political economy that are each on their way to being complex, interrelated crises. First, the unsustainable system of export-led “bottomless competition" in China that is dominating — and disrupting — global markets for advanced manufacturing and high-tech goods thanks to hyper-competitive pressure, diminishing returns, vertical integration, hefty subsidies, and other industrial / policy dynamics. Second, a surprising-to-many effect of the war on Iran: Gulf states are major producers and distributors of synthetic fertilizers which are used for agriculture in large parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. Those supply chains are now disrupted which is causing hunger and coming famines in large parts of the world. ••• China shock 2.0: the flood of high-tech goods that will change the world https://www.ft.com/content/7d51a630-a3de-4cc7-9f5f-0f3e7f0d305a?syn-25a6b1a6=1 ••• The coming global food crisis https://www.ft.com/content/7d51a630-a3de-4cc7-9f5f-0f3e7f0d305a?syn-25a6b1a6=1 Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
1 hr 40 min
We do a deep dive into OpenAI’s new report “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age: Ideas to Keep People First” and pick apart their extensive set of proposals for building an “Open Economy” and "Resilient Society” all against the backdrop of surviving the “transition toward superintelligence”. There are some moments of insidiously clever thinking, which stand out against a laundry list of boring ideas that repackage existing things as exciting innovations. ••• OpenAI | Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age: Ideas to Keep People First https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/561e7512-253e-424b-9734-ef4098440601/Industrial%20Policy%20for%20the%20Intelligence%20Age.pdf Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
7 min
We talk about a new innovation in focus groups and public polling called “silicon sampling” — or a new way that models which claim to represent the world are actually engines that shape reality. The art, science, and illusion of modelling human beliefs and behaviors has always been riddled with problems, but now it's being done on a much grander scale using intrinsically impenetrable techniques. From there we further crystallize our grand theory of the World Casino. ••• This Is What Will Ruin Public Opinion Polling for Good https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/opinion/ai-polling.html ••• The Bookmaker https://thepointmag.com/politics/the-bookmaker/# ••• The Casino That’s Eating the World https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/opinion/prediction-markets-gambling.html Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
1 hr 18 min
We chat with Tim Sahay and Kate Mackenzie — authors of the indispensable newsletter The Polycrisis and hosts of the new podcast Electric World Order — to get into the energy transition, financial markets, fossil fuel disruptions, and the war in Iran. Much of the coverage about the current oil crisis and chokepoint in the Strait of Hormuz is focused on the impacts of supply shocks, but equally important are the long-term effects of demand destruction. We lay out what an energy transition under conditions of polycrisis actually entails: things don’t just smoothly change while staying the same, instead it’s more like a material shift in the centre of political, economic, energetic power: from the petrostate (e.g. USA) to the electrostate (e.g. China). ••• The Polycrisis | Phenomenal World https://www.phenomenalworld.org/series/the-polycrisis/ ••• Trailer for Electric World Order | | The Polycrisis Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-electric-world-order-the-geopolitics/id1884213852?i=1000754959853 Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
6 min
We chat about new strides in Australian innovation. What if you had a computer quiz that decided if your grandma deserved the care needed to have a good life? What if you had a computer quiz designed to eliminate empathy in the name of streamlining budgets? What if you had an unbending, unchallengeable, system of rules that turned human experts into vestigial organs? And what if that system cost more than a $1 billion in privatisation contracts? ••• New aged care algorithm under fire as 800 apply for review https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-24/aged-care-algorithm-for-home-care-under-fire/106475138 Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
1 hr 17 min
TMK thought validated yet again! We talk about two big studies into the effects of AI on workloads, which show with in-depth empirical detail how AI intensifies and expands labor, rather than lightens and shrinks workloads. Weird! Did anybody know this would happen??? ••• TMK live show in San Francisco, 7pm on Thursday, March 19th, with our friends at Bay Area Current and DSA SF. Join us! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/decoding-the-tech-vibe-shift-a-night-of-left-wing-tech-criticism-tickets-1984745130112 ••• AI Isn’t Lightening Workloads. It’s Making Them More Intense. https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-isnt-lightening-workloads-its-making-them-more-intense-e417dd2c ••• AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It https://hbr.org/2026/02/ai-doesnt-reduce-work-it-intensifies-it Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s 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)
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