This Machine Kills

We discuss Chapter 9 – Value, Class, and Competition – and get deeper into the vertical relations between classes, the connection between domination by value and domination by class, and the universalizing power of competition as an ordering and disciplining force that compels everybody to act according to the laws of capital. ••• Mute Compulsion: A Marxist Theory of the Economic Power of Capital – Søren Mau https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2759-mute-compulsion Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

The podcast explores the decline in venture capital funding and the struggles of unicorns and startups. It discusses the state of business models and funding in the tech industry, proposing alternative strategies. The rise of dominant individuals in the tech sector is highlighted. The ongoing labor dispute involving Tesla in Scandinavia and cross-class solidarity are discussed. The hosts also delve into Elon Musk's alleged drug habits and lack of sleep.

We get back into the Q&A, picking up where we left off by talking about the profession of academia and working in institutions that are working against you, then get into advice for organizing in tech startups, how to counter the anti-luddite propaganda and deny the doomposting tendency, what our alternative podcasts would be about, and finally our bucket list for TMK guests. The Traditional Catholic Iceberg: https://twitter.com/PapistB/status/1741989796090974217 Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

Hosts answer listener questions on video game industry, writing process, and breaking into critical tech journalism. They discuss their love for video games and tabletop gaming, addressing issues like micro-transactions and profit-driven game design. They reflect on the negative impact of game design that prioritizes profits over player enjoyment. They also explore the speaker's preference for writing on paper and their disillusionment with news consumption.

The podcast discusses the universal power of value in capitalism and how it becomes an abstract source of domination. They explore value theory, laborer-capitalist relationship, and the production of surplus value.

Salomé Viljoen, a data analyst and researcher, discusses the relationship between social data and value creation. They explore the conversion problem of turning data into money and the need to consider social data's 'prediction value.' They also highlight the inadequacy of current data governance and the necessity for change in the political economy of social data.

With Cop City as a case study, we draw together two recent articles — one on the historical connection between right-wing racism, environmental groups, and ecoterrorist actions, and one on how the massive expansion of RICO laws to target (and fabricate) conspiracies of all kinds has become a key tool of prosecutorial power — to explore how the actions of right-wing groups precipitate the creation of stronger, tougher laws which then get used to further suppress left-wing movements. ••• The War on Ecoterror https://www.thedriftmag.com/the-war-on-ecoterror/ ••• An Offer You Can’t Refuse https://www.thedriftmag.com/an-offer-you-cant-refuse/ Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

Israeli intelligence officer, referred to as a 'mass assassination factory,' discusses Israel's military strategy of wiping out targets and family homes using an AI system. They shine a light on the devastating consequences in Gaza, AI's potential to sanitize crimes, and the AI ethics community's lack of response. The high death toll and impact on families caused by targeted bombings, Israel's use of advanced technology, and the shocking exportation of apartheid and genocide technologies are also explored.

We dive into a new report that details Israel’s military strategy of wiping out “power targets” and “family homes,” which is bolstered and justified by an artificial intelligence system (Habsora, or “the Gospel”) that one Israeli intelligence officer called a “mass assassination factory.” The reporting is so shocking and unreal — and the critical silence about the system, by many people whose whole beat is “AI ethics,” is noticeable. This is what the lethal risk of AI looks like in its real material actuality, not as some imaginary potential possibility. ••• ‘A mass assassination factory’: Inside Israel’s calculated bombing of Gaza https://www.972mag.com/mass-assassination-factory-israel-calculated-bombing-gaza/ ••• Obama's secret kill list – the disposition matrix https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/14/obama-secret-kill-list-disposition-matrix ••• On the Moral Collapse of AI Ethics https://upfromthecracks.medium.com/on-the-moral-collapse-of-ai-ethics-791cbc7df872 Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

The podcast delves into the intriguing history and influence of religious ideologies on AI development, highlighting evangelical notions of transcendence. It explores the resurgence of AI in the 90s and its intertwining with Christian dominionism. The evolution of AI research and development is discussed, including algorithmic niche fields and the integration of GPU-based computation. The integration of technology in daily life, right-wing movements' fascination with technology, and the desire to use technology for dominance are also explored.