This Machine Kills

We discuss an interview with the latest tech billionaire, Alexandr Wang of Scale AI, to push the jingoistic position that Silicon Valley has a duty to ensure American supremacy in every domain—military, geopolitics, technology, economy—and land lucrative contracts in the process. ••• Alexandr Wang: US technologists should help preserve US military and economic leadership https://www.ft.com/content/98b0a060-0e2e-4001-a4b6-8c388c106988 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)

Quinn Slobodian, author of Crack-Up Capitalism, discusses how fringe beliefs of anarcho-capitalists are gaining mainstream influence. The podcast explores the relationship between neoliberalism, law, and the state, as well as the colonial mindset of ultra wealthy individuals like Musk and Bezos. The need for dialogue between left and right anarchists, the racially and culturally homogenous nature of suburbs and gated communities, and the connection between economics and race science are also discussed.

We discuss chapter two – Power and Marxism – which offers a survey of how Marxist theories of power have largely been caught between the two poles of violence and ideology. With power-as-violence, the focus has been on the changing roles of the state, its relationship with capital, and the ways it physically controls people. With power-as-ideology, the focus has been on the role of institutions and culture in shaping how people think, thus exercising forms of mental control over people. While both these traditions are valuable and necessary, as Mau argues, they offer a duality of power, rather than a trinity. That missing link? Mute compulsion. ••• 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)

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.

We start with news about the latest attempt to build a smart city from scratch as a collection of venture capitalists have been secretly buying huge amounts of land near San Francisco to finally realize a dream that will never die. We connect this logic of the capitalist zone to an expansive analysis of Saudi Arabia’s global investments, geopolitical partnerships, and giant ambitions for a future where the world is a zone. Stuff we reference: ••• The Silicon Valley Elite Who Want to Build a City From Scratch https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/business/land-purchases-solano-county.html ••• How Saudi Arabia is buying the world https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2023/07/saudi-arabia-capitalsim-buying-world ••• How Saudi money returned to Silicon Valley https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/5/1/23702451/silicon-valley-saudi-money-khashoggi 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)

We are joined by Tamara Nopper and Eve Zelickson —— from the Data & Society Research Institute —— to discuss their excellent primer on Wellness Capitalism. This is the pure ideal of TMK crossovers as we lay out how an intricate tangle of things —— the organization of social reproduction by capital, the power dynamics of labor-boss relations, the cultures of personal responsibility and behavioral choices, the technocratic authority of baroque administrative systems, the actuarial governance regime of risk management —— all come together to control access to, and degrade the quality of, essential services for human life and society. ••• Wellness Capitalism: Employee Health, the Benefits Maze, and Worker Control | Tamara Nopper, Eve Zelickson https://datasociety.net/library/wellness-capitalism-employee-health-the-benefits-maze-and-worker-control/ ••• Follow Tamara: https://twitter.com/tamaranopper ••• Follow Eve: https://twitter.com/zel_eve 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)

In this podcast, they discuss the lack of clear understanding and the importance of clarity in conceptual tools like power and capital. They explore definitions of power and its relationship to domination, control, coercion, and the denial of autonomy and agency in capitalism. They also examine the power of capital in Marx's theory and how it encompasses classes, individuals, and social forms.

The podcast discusses Søren Mau's book 'Mute Compulsion' and its analysis of power, value, capital, and social reproduction. It explores concepts like mute compulsion, domination in capitalism, the significance of an epigraph, the persistence of capitalism, childhood interests, random conversations, violence and economic power, and an introduction to Marxist Thought and Analysis.

In another instalment of What the Fuck is Happening in America, we talk about how sports betting has totally saturated society since the Supreme Court overturned a ban in 2018, then we discuss the next wild frontier of online casinos driven by gambling platforms and megastar streamers, then finally we gaze into the dark abyss of The Machine Zone. Stuff we reference ••• The dark side of the US sports betting boom https://www.ft.com/content/2e1a235a-8a46-47f3-b040-5ca21a04ebf4 ••• Cigars, Booze, Money: How a Lobbying Blitz Made Sports Betting Ubiquitous https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/business/sports-betting-lobbying-kansas.html ••• Twitch’s Gambling Boom Is Luring Gamers Into Crypto Casinos https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-04/twitch-s-gambling-boom-is-luring-gamers-into-crypto-casinos ••• A Nation of the Walking Dead https://www.truthdig.com/articles/a-nation-of-the-walking-dead/ 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 discusses the implementation of facial recognition surveillance in New Orleans and its lack of effectiveness. They also delve into China's crackdown on tech companies and the impact on its economy. The chapter highlights China's closed financial system, interventions in the tech sector, and the need to understand China's mechanisms and legal authorities. The podcast wraps up with gratitude to listeners and promotion of their premium episodes on Patreon.