Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, how it’s part of a larger crisis in the tech sector, and why it’s turning people against the industry’s venture capitalists.Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the host of The Naked Emperor, a new CBC podcast. Follow Jacob on Twitter at @SilvermanJacob.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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Jacob wrote about the lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in the Globe and Mail.Paris wrote about how the SVB collapse should be a radicalizing moment against venture capitalists.A video circulated about Jason Calacanis bragging about SVB offering him favorable banking services.A screenshot shows a founder complaining about Chase closing his bank account because his company doesn’t have a physical office, saying SVB never required one.Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund told its portfolio companies to pull their money out of SVB before its collapse.SVB’s President pushed for Congress to reduce regulations and oversight on banks like SVB as it grew.Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by James Wright to discuss Japan’s efforts to develop robots to care for its growing elderly population, what the government hoped to achieve with that plan, and why it hasn’t worked out as planned.James Wright is a research associate with Turning Institute and a visiting lecturer at Queen Mary University of London. He’s also the author of Robots Won’t Save Japan. You can follow James on Twitter at @jms_wright.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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Paris is visiting New Zealand and doing a number of events through the latter half of March. Find all the dates and details here.James wrote about Japan’s efforts to automate elder care for MIT Tech Review.Jennifer Robertson spoke about the gendering of robots to cement conservative gender norms.Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Dan McQuillan to discuss how AI systems encourage ranking populations and austerity policies, and why understanding their politics is essential to opposing them.Dan McQuillan is a Lecturer in Creative and Social Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London. He’s also the author of Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence. You can follow Dan on Twitter at @danmcquillan.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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Dan wrote specifically about ChatGPT and how we should approach it on his website.Dan mentions TWIML as a podcast that has conversations with industry players that’s informative for how these technologies work (though you’re not likely to get a critical perspective on them), and Achille Mbembe’s book Necropolitics.OpenAI used Kenyan workers earning $2/hour to make ChatGPT less toxic.The UK had to scrap a racist algorithm it was using for visa applications and many councils dropped the use of algorithms in their welfare and benefits systems.Dan mentions a Human Rights Watch report on the EU’s flawed AI regulations and its impacts on the social safety net.The Lucas Plan was developed by workers at Lucas Aerospace in the 1970s, but rejected by their bosses.Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Ben Wray to discuss the fight to win a pro-worker Platform Work Directive in the European Union, Uber’s rollout of dynamic pricing, and how Barcelona taxi workers have fought back against ride-hailing.Ben Wray is the coordinator of The Gig Economy Project and the co-author of Scotland after Britain: The two souls of Scottish independence. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @Ben_Wray1989.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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:The Gig Economy Project has a weekly newsletter on the gig economy in Europe.Ben wrote about the Platform Work Directive for Context.In 2022, the Uber Files gave us greater insight into Uber's lobbying activities, with a specific focus on what had gone on in Europe. The leaks implicated French President Emmanuel Macron, but he said he’d do it all again.The Gig Economy Project broke down what dynamic pricing would mean for workers and spoke to Leïla Chaibi about the Platform Work Directive.The UCLA Labor Center, transport analyst Hubert Horan, and Rideshare Drivers United with the Asian Law Caucus have all found Uber raising prices while cutting driver pay.Spain passed the Riders Law to regulate gig work, and Barcelona has pushed back against ride-hailing with the backing of a taxi union called Élite Taxi.Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Rosie Collington to discuss the consequences of outsourcing tech to the private sector, how it causes governments to lose important capacities to serve the public, and how the push for open government data empowered large tech firms.Rosie Collington is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College London. She’s also the co-author of The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens Our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies with Mariana Mazzucato. You can follow Rosie on Twitter at @RosieCollingto.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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Rosie wrote a paper called “Disrupting the Welfare State? Digitalisation and the Retrenchment of Public Sector Capacity” for New Political Economy, and a report calling “Digital Public Assets” for Common Wealth.Palantir has a massive and controversial contract with the NHS. That hasn’t stopped Peter Thiel from criticizing the UK’s public healthcare system.Mar Hicks wrote about the masculinization of the computer workforce in Programmed Inequality: How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost Its Edge in Computing.Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Malcolm Harris to discuss the sordid history of Silicon Valley, including the long influence of eugenics at Stanford, how Silicon Valley profited from the United States’ wars throughout the 20th century, and why the libertarian narrative of tech hide a much darker reality.Malcolm Harris is the author of Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World. You can follow Malcolm on Twitter at @BigMeanInternet.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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:You can read an excerpt of Malcolm’s book in The Atlantic.Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Edward Niedermeyer to discuss the rollercoaster ride of Tesla’s share price, the escalating regulatory and legal scrutiny the company faces, and the challenges it faces in the electric car market.Edward Niedermeyer is the author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors and a co-host of The Autonocast. You can follow Edward on Twitter at @Tweetermeyer or on Mastodon at @niedermeyer@sfba.social.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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Argo AI shut down in October and Apple pushed back its car project again in December.California found “Full Self-Driving” was a misleading term and couldn’t be used in Tesla marketing.A Tesla engineer testified that a 2016 video to promote Autopilot was staged.Tesla is facing a number of Autopilot cases in the coming months, including an important one in Florida.Liza Dixon wrote about “autonowashing”.In January, Tesla admitted it was under investigation by the Department of Justice.Tesla’s Head of Autopilot Software testifying he doesn’t know what an operational design domain is presents serious red flags.Chinese car companies are planning to significantly expand vehicle exports, as BYD is already selling more vehicles in China than Tesla sells globally.Since recording, Elon Musk was found not liable in the “funding secured” trial.Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Anousha Sakoui to discuss the prospect of a writer’s strike later this year, what workers are fighting for, and how the move to streaming has affected working conditions and compensation in Hollywood.Anousha Sakoui is an entertainment industry writer for the Los Angeles Times, covering topics including labor and litigation in Hollywood. She was part of the team that was a 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist in breaking news for work covering the tragic shooting on the “Rust” film set. You can follow Anousha on Twitter at @anoushasakoui.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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Anousha wrote about how the Writers Guild and Directors Guild are approaching upcoming negotiations with studios.David Robb wrote about the history of Writers Guild strikes, and why another one seems overdue.WGA West recently blasted Warner Discovery for reducing opportunities for content creators after its merger.In 2021, IATSE was poised to go on strike before reaching a last-minute deal with the studios that was accepted by members.A new deal will loosen some Covid protocols on film sets.In 2021, Apple was paying lower rates to production crews because it said its TV+ service has less than 20 million subscribers. In July 2022, it started paying the higher rate.In 2018, the Hollywood Reporter reflected on the 2007 writers strike after ten years.The 2007 writers strike helped revive Donald Trump’s flagging The Apprentice show with a spinoff, The Celebrity Apprentice.Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Quinn Myers to discuss the launch of Google Glass, why the product failed so badly, and what lessons we can learn from it as tech companies make another push for AR glasses.Quinn Myers is the author of Google Glass and a freelance writer who used to write for MEL. You can follow him on Twitter at @quinmyers.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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Please participate in our listener survey this month to give us a better idea of what you think of the show: https://forms.gle/xayiT7DQJn56p62x7Apple is planning to release a mixed-reality headset, but its AR glasses have reported been delayed due to ongoing technical issues.Mark Zuckerberg said you’ll be able to text people during a meeting on your glasses.Google released a video called “One Day” that vastly overpromised what Glass would deliver.Sergey Brin’s affair with an employee working on Glass was revealed in 2013.After 8 years, the “Twitter tax cut” finally ended in 2019.Residents protested against Google’s use of public bus stops in San Francisco.The PRISM revelations showed the NSA had access to tech company servers.The Daily Show skewered Google Glass in a 2014 segment.Support the show

Paris Marx is joined by Timnit Gebru to discuss the misleading framings of artificial intelligence, her experience of getting fired by Google in a very public way, and why we need to avoid getting distracted by all the hype around ChatGPT and AI image tools.Timnit Gebru is the founder and executive director of the Distributed AI Research Institute and former co-lead of the Ethical AI research team at Google. You can follow her on Twitter at @timnitGebru.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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode:Please participate in our listener survey this month to give us a better idea of what you think of the show: https://forms.gle/xayiT7DQJn56p62x7Timnit wrote about the exploited labor behind AI tools and how effective altruism is pushing a harmful idea of AI ethics.Karen Hao broke down the details of the paper that got Timnit fired from Google.Emily Tucker wrote an article called “Artifice and Intelligence.”In 2016, ProPublica published an article about technology being used to “predict” future criminals that was biased against black people.In 2015, Google Photos classified black women as “gorillas.” In 2018, it still hadn’t really been fixed.Artists have been protesting AI-generated images that train themselves on their work and threaten their livelihoods.OpenAI used Kenyan workers paid less than $2 an hour to try to make ChatGPT less toxic.Zachary Loeb described ELIZA in his article about Joseph Weizenbaum’s work and legacy.Support the show