This Machine Kills cover image

This Machine Kills

281. The Smoking Gun of Techno-Capitalism (ft. Meredith Whittaker)

Sep 7, 2023
Meredith Whittaker, a historical analyst, discusses the link between Charles Babbage and plantation logics of control in computing. She also explores the political economy of 'open' AI and the concentration of power in the tech industry. The chapter highlights surveillance, the dominance of big tech, challenges in AI development, and the desire to control people's value.
01:40:03

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Early computational design was influenced by plantation logics of control, aiming to replace mathematicians with machines and perpetuate labor division.
  • Surveillance is a fundamental power relation in AI, deeply embedded in its design and operation, with big tech companies exacerbating concentration of power.

Deep dives

Babbage's Vision and Labor Control

Charles Babbage, the father of computing, played a crucial role in the development of early computational design and logics. His engines, although never built, served as prototypes for modern computation. Babbage's designs were influenced by labor division systems on plantations. His goal was to replace the labor of mathematicians through the use of machines, automating mathematical processes and surveilling workers. Babbage's vision was rooted in utilitarianism and control of labor, seeing workers as commodities to be controlled and paid less. His designs reflected the ideologies of emerging capitalists during the 19th century, seeking to maintain productivity and preserve capitalism. This analysis sheds light on the historical and ideological foundations of early computation and its connection to labor control.

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