Techno‑Populism, Unpluggers and Civil Strife

Miles Taylor, the Trump whistleblower, is now an enemy of the state.

Latest WL? dispatch comes from McGill University's conference on big tech's threat to democracy. We’ve stitched together four interviews with leading thinkers on whether the AI bubble will burst and how to confront mass manipulation in the digital age.

The first half is a deep cut with Miles Taylor, the author of the explosive NYT ‘anonymous’ op-ed, which revealed the chaos inside the first Trump administration. A vociferous critic of Trump and MAGA, Taylor is now experiencing the regime’s nefarious tactics to quell dissent.

Currently under investigation by the deep state, Miles is convinced the US has slid into techno-authoritarianism. We discuss:

- Dissent = treason for Trump, a crime punishable by death

- Threat of Martial Law under the Insurrection Act

- Stephen Miller’s “shock and awe blitz” of Executive Orders

- Taylor’s fears for the safety of his family

- Trump using tech & AI to silence critics

- Why Taylor believes the rule of law is dead in America

- Mass mobilisation = chance to save American democracy

- The Real Matrix: war of pro-tech vs anti-tech humans

The second half of the episode explores the big questions around free speech, big tech accountablity, and European competition with political heavyweights:

- Sasha Havlicek, CEO of Institute for Strategic Dialogue, on owning our data and how algorithms profit from polarisation

- Imran Ahmed, CEO of Centre for Countering Digital Hate, explains how the free speech argument distracts from the perverse incentives of the digital attention economy.

- Alexandra Geese, 🇩🇪 Green MEP, on whether Europe can compete with big tech America and find some backbone to enforce good regulation.

It’s striking how age-defining these issue are and how little air time they get – it’s almost like big tech’s lobbying efforts are working…

When the AI bubble inevitably pops, which politicians will stand up and say ‘I told you so’? Time’s running out.

Huge thank you to Taylor Owen, John Matheson and the folks at the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy for the invite. Was also great to meet some listeners of the podcast at McGill!

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00:00 Intro

01:20 Republicans Against Trump

09:08 MAGA’s Authoritarian Plan

16:55 Dissent = Treason

21:50 The Rise of TechnoFascism

31:07 Corruption in America

39:02 How To Save Democracy

44:42 The Real Matrix

50:24 Sasha Havlicek on Digital Radicalisation

56:12 Control Over our Data

1:02:46 Imran Ahmed on Free Speech Online

1:08:29 Imran’s Triggernometry Interview

1:14:52 The Ragebait Economy

1:23:35 Green MEP on Tech Accountability

1:34:15 Can Europe Rival American Tech?

1:43:25 Outro