This Machine Kills

We are joined by David Dayen (editor, American Prospect) and Lindsay Owens (director, Groundwork Collaborative) to discuss the special issue of the American Prospect they put together on “how pricing really works.” We drill down into why pricing is the perfect window for seeing how power works in the economy. We explore the great many tactics and technologies that companies have devised to make pricing into a major source of profits by enforcing a system of unfair, deceptive, and aggressive strategies designed to exploit each person based on what they are willing to pay and what they are willing to accept. We wrap up by talking about what can be done by legislators, regulators, and the court of public outrage to push back against the weaponization of pricing. ••• How Pricing Really Works https://prospect.org/pricing ••• Groundwork Collaborative https://groundworkcollaborative.org/ ••• David Dayen https://x.com/ddayen ••• Lindsay Owens https://x.com/owenslindsay1 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 once again by Evgeny Morozov to discuss his new podcast series, A Sense of Rebellion, which tells the story of a wild bunch of eccentric hippies who had grand ideas for how to design interactive technologies and intelligent environments and cybernetic systems that are radically different from today’s smart tech and AI. Morozov takes us deep down the rabbit hole of Cold War counterculture and technoculture, and deep into the life and mind of Warren Brodey, a now largely forgotten giant of early cybernetics. This new podcast series is the second in a trilogy on “tech rebels who failed.” ••• A Sense of Rebellion: https://www.sense-of-rebellion.com/ ••• Evgeny Morozov: https://x.com/evgenymorozov ••• The Boston hippies who developed technologies that Silicon Valley wouldn’t dare to make https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/06/15/opinion/warren-brodey-environmental-ecology-lab/ 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 keep rolling with our discussion about the Insulin Empire with Athena. ••• The Insulin Empire https://thebaffler.com/after-the-fact/the-insulin-empire-ongweso-jr-sofides ••• Mutual Aid Diabetes https://mutualaiddiabetes.com/ ••• T1International https://www.t1international.com/ 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 Athena Sofides who co-wrote (with Ed) a brilliant essay in The Baffler, which provides an in-depth analysis of insulin, the social health factors of diabetes, and the global oligopoly of pharmaceutical corporations that exert total control over – and extract max profits from — this medicine that many millions of diabetics depend upon everyday and are unable to access. We go deep on how this insulin cartel is waging, as they write, “a war to remake insulin into a more profitable form, its patients into a more profitable demographic, and its market into a noncompetitive oligopoly.” ••• The Insulin Empire https://thebaffler.com/after-the-fact/the-insulin-empire-ongweso-jr-sofides ••• Mutual Aid Diabetes https://mutualaiddiabetes.com/ ••• T1International https://www.t1international.com/ 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 do a reading series on a major anti-trust lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice against Live Nation / Ticketmaster and the absolutely wild tactics the company used to intimidate competitors, enforce market domination, and totally lockdown the live entertainment industry. Then we wrap up with the new licensing deals between OpenAI and The Atlantic, Vox Media, News Corp – and what they portend for the hollowed out future of news media. ••• How Live Nation’s Monopoly Works https://prospect.org/power/2024-05-24-how-live-nations-monopoly-works/ ••• The Monopoly Case Against Ticketmaster, Explained https://www.404media.co/the-monopoly-case-against-ticketmaster-explained/ ••• Exclusive: The Atlantic, Vox Media ink licensing, product deals with OpenAI https://www.axios.com/2024/05/29/atlantic-vox-media-openai-licensing-deal ••• Former OpenAI board member explains why CEO Sam Altman got fired before he was rehired https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/29/former-openai-board-member-explains-why-ceo-sam-altman-was-fired.html ••• America’s premier pronatalists on having ‘tons of kids’ to save the world: ‘There are going to be countries of old people starving to death’ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/may/25/american-pronatalists-malcolm-and-simone-collins 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 Uber's battles with states over worker rights and wage floors, highlighting how Uber weaponizes complexity to abuse workers and avoid regulation. It also explores the impact of Uber and Lyft's quota system on drivers, the challenges in regulating big tech companies, and how Uber and Lyft avoid business taxes.

Discussing a new surveillance program by NYC Mayor Eric Adams and the public-private partnerships with Fusus by Axon, we dig into how the moral panic around “organized retail theft” has become a smoke screen / cynical moral alibi for an arms race of policing. It’s new software for the old hardware of an oppressive corporate state. ••• Mayor Adams Announces new Pilot Program to Combat Retail Theft, Create Efficiencies, Improve Police-Community Relations Using Innovative Technology https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/383-24/mayor-adams-new-pilot-program-combat-retail-theft-create-efficiencies-improve#/0 ••• Privacy or safety? U.S. brings 'surveillance city to the suburbs' https://www.context.news/digital-rights/privacy-or-safety-us-brings-surveillance-city-to-the-suburbs 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 talk about how everybody on the superalignment team at OpenAI—focused on safety, risk, adversarial testing, societal impacts, and existential concerns—is resigning, including high-profile people like Illya Sutskever. And nobody can talk about it because of draconian rules (even for Silicon Valley) about non-disclosure and non-disparagement people must sign (or risk their vested equity) upon exiting the company. For us, the turmoil of OpenAI is indicative of conflict between true believers (superalignment) and cynical operators (Sam Altman). Outro: Aunty Donna – Real Estate Agents https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGm267O04a8 ••• “I lost trust”: Why the OpenAI team in charge of safeguarding humanity imploded https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2024/5/17/24158403/openai-resignations-ai-safety-ilya-sutskever-jan-leike-artificial-intelligence ••• ChatGPT can talk, but OpenAI employees sure can’t https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2024/5/17/24158478/openai-departures-sam-altman-employees-chatgpt-release 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)

After revisiting our discussion of stimulants from last episode, we dive deep into a new hive of freaks on the internet and examine the psychology of forum posters on the Cybertruck Owners Club. ••• Cybertruck Owners Club https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/ 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 innovations like ultrasonic extraction for cold brew coffee and the ethical implications of AI companions. From GPT-4o to AI friendships, the episodes touch on the societal impact of relying on technology for companionship.