This Machine Kills

We discuss a great new essay from Noah Kulwin that situates the modern crypto grift economy as a reincarnation of the Savings and Loans Crisis of the 80s – as a way of arguing for a longer view of the historical materialist context of these larger dynamics. New body, old engine. Some stuff we reference: ••• Tales from the Thrifts https://thebaffler.com/salvos/tales-from-the-thrifts-kulwin ••• Would You Take Out a Loan to Buy This Week’s Groceries? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/29/dining/buy-now-pay-later-loans-groceries.html Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)

We discuss a new startup doing the rounds called Sanas that uses AI “accent translation” to make "non-white" call center workers speak English with a white American accent. This is some real retro throwback tech solutionism / startup utopianism with a very quotable founder at the helm. While Sanas claims it's all about worker empowerment and global equity, we here at TMKonsulting show how Sanas is likely to be used as a tool of exploitation. Plus contribute to broader shifts in the role of large language models for the political economy of AI. We then end with a shout out to FN Meka. Some stuff we reference: ••• Sansa https://www.sanas.ai/ ••• Sanas, the buzzy Bay Area startup that wants to make the world sound whiter https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/sanas-startup-creates-american-voice-17382771.php ••• This Startup Is Selling Tech to Make Call Center Workers Sound Like White Americans https://www.vice.com/en/article/akek7g/this-startup-is-selling-tech-to-make-call-center-workers-sound-like-white-americans ••• Virtual rapper FN Meka underscores how AI perpetuates racial stereotyping https://mashable.com/article/fn-meka-record-deal-racial-stereotyping Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)

We talk about the booming market for – and community organizing against – landlord technologies that use invasive surveillance to terrorize tenants and automate evictions. In addition to discussing the broader political economy and social toxicity of this shit, we also introduce a new psycho into the canon. Some stuff we reference: ••• Automating gentrification: Landlord technologies and housing justice organizing in New York City homes https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/02637758221088868 ••• Automated landlord: Digital technologies and post-crisis financial accumulation https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0308518X19846514 ••• Electronic Fortification in Phoenix: Surveillance Technologies and Social Regulation in Residential Communities https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1078087406292845 Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)

We are joined by Dan McQuillan to discuss his great new book Resisting AI. As Jathan wrote in a blurb for the book: “With analytical and moral clarity, McQuillan makes the case for recognising the radical politics of AI and meeting its goose step march head-on.” We get deep into an excellent discussion spanning the political economy and political epistemology of artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Ed is trapped in Pittsburgh where he is now forced to live as a worker in a defunct steel factory. ••• Follow Dan on Twitter https://twitter.com/danmcquillan ••• Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/resisting-ai ••• Data Science as Machinic Neoplatonism https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-017-0273-3 Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)

We dig deep into Effective Altruism and Longtermism, laying out the origins, beliefs, and actions of this ideological moral system and the networks of influence and wealth that it’s plugged into. Along the way we critique the extreme logical conclusions it leads to, the extremely simpleminded fairy tales it’s based on, and the extremist group of moral zealots, useful idiots, and cynical bullshiters that rule this rationalist religion. Some stuff we reference: ••• The Case for Longtermism https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/05/opinion/the-case-for-longtermism.html ••• The Reluctant Prophet of Effective Altruism https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/the-reluctant-prophet-of-effective-altruism ••• Stop the Robot Apocalypse https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n18/amia-srinivasan/stop-the-robot-apocalypse Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)

[We are unlocking this episode to share the interview with the main feed. Apologies for the feedback from Noah's audio causing a slight digital buzz when he talks, Jereme cleaned it up as best he could.] Ed is joined by reporter Noah Lanard to talk about his recent profile of Peter Thiel’s apostle: Blake Masters. We track the origins and development of his ideology: from his childhood flirtation with liberalism(?) to his college libertarianism and deeper integration into Thiel’s network of fascists eager to seize control of the GOP and Silicon Valley. Read the article: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-peter-thiel-donald-trump-arizona-senate-mark-kelly/ Follow Noah: https://twitter.com/nlanard Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)

We melt our brains discussing two reality tv shows that are taking copaganda to the next level. First up is Ring Nation, a new show produced by Amazon-owned MGM Studios that’s like America’s Funniest Home Videos for a ubiquitous surveillance society. Next is Hunted, a new Australian show based on a UK series that’s like a mix of The Amazing Race + Live PD + 24. I wish this was all fake. I wish this was all a bit. But it’s more than real: it’s reality tv, baby! Some stuff we reference: ••• 'Ring Nation' Is Amazon's Reality Show for Our Surveillance Dystopia https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k8x49/ring-nation-is-amazons-reality-show-for-our-surveillance-dystopia ••• Ready, set, dough: The hide-and-seek game with $100k up for grabs https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/ready-set-dough-the-hide-and-seek-game-with-100k-up-for-grabs-20220705-p5aza5.html ••• No matter who wins Hunted, Channel 10’s new surveillance game, we all lose https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/07/25/hunted-channel-10-surveillance-show-we-all-lose/ ••• Facial recognition smartwatches to be used to monitor foreign offenders in UK https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/05/facial-recognition-smartwatches-to-be-used-to-monitor-foreign-offenders-in-uk ••• SoftBank Reports Record $23.4 Billion Loss as Holdings Fall https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-08/softbank-reports-record-23-4-billion-loss-as-holdings-tumble Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)

Based on Amazon’s recent acquisitions of One Medical and iRobot—just the latest in a shopping spree of vertical integration—we analyze how these seemingly disparate things all plug into Amazon’s broader strategy for “ambient computing.” In which data from a vast variety of sources and streams are combined and integrated into a range of different services. In which we are always plugged into Amazon’s ever-expanding network through protocols like Sidewalk. In which we are constantly connected to the eternal and ubiquitous market. Some stuff we reference: ••• Amazon agrees to buy Roomba maker iRobot for $1.7bn www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/05/amazon-buy-roomba-maker-irobot-vaccum ••• Amazon’s Roomba Deal Is Really About Mapping Your Home https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-05/amazon-s-irobot-deal-is-about-roomba-s-data-collection ••• Dave Limp: Amazon’s focus is on the real world, not the metaverse https://www.ft.com/content/3d5bdfa8-d85e-41e8-b2d5-fadf8948cbba Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)

Ed is joined by reporter Noah Lanard to talk about his recent profile of Peter Thiel’s apostle: Blake Masters. We track the origins and development of his ideology: from his childhood flirtation with liberalism(?) to his college libertarianism and deeper integration into Thiel’s network of fascists eager to seize control of the GOP and Silicon Valley. Read the article: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-peter-thiel-donald-trump-arizona-senate-mark-kelly/ Follow Noah: https://twitter.com/nlanard Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)

We dig into a convoluted and confused scheme for people selling shares in their future to venture capitalists, which pushes logics of hyper-financialization in even more perverse directions—all proposed by two brothers who are the epitome of a dumb guy’s idea of smart guys. Article we discuss: ••• Is Selling Shares in Yourself the Way of the Future? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/01/is-selling-shares-in-yourself-the-way-of-the-future Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)