This Week in Tech (Audio) TWiT 1047: Nerd Harder! - From Cloudflare's Internet Gatekeeping to AI's Labor Threat
12 snips
Sep 1, 2025 
Cory Doctorow, a science fiction author and digital rights advocate, joins Shoshana Weissmann, a tech policy expert, and Louis Maresca, an engineering head at Microsoft. They dive deep into Cloudflare's gatekeeping role and the implications of age verification laws for user access. The panel discusses the precarious balance between cybersecurity and digital rights, while also tackling AI's growing influence on labor and ethical tech practices. Expect insights on the looming challenges of internet regulation and the potential risks to personal privacy and freedoms.
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AI As A Labor-Displacement Threat
- Employers view AI as a tool to replace workers and reduce labor bargaining power.
- Cory Doctorow argues bosses prefer chatbots because they remove employees' ability to push back.
Book Thesis: Investors Bet On Firing Workers
- Cory finished a new book, The Reverse Centaur's Guide to AI, and describes its core thesis.
- He explains investors back AI to cut payroll and pocket the savings while vendors capture the rest.
Use AI To Automate, Not Overclaim
- Use AI to automate clearly defined, low-risk processes rather than replace expertise wholesale.
- Shoshana Weissmann recommends focusing on automation and process improvement instead of overhyping AI's capabilities.
