Tech Won't Save Us - TopPodcast.com

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ChatGPT Is Not Intelligent w/ Emily M. Bender Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Emily M. Bender to discuss what it means to say that ChatGPT is a “stochastic parrot,” why Elon Musk is calling to pause AI development, and how the tech industry uses language to trick us into buying its narratives about technology.
Emily M. Bender is a professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Washington and the Faculty Director of the Computational Linguistics Master’s Program. She’s also the director of the Computational Linguistics Laboratory. Follow Emily on Twitter at @emilymbender or on Mastodon at @emilymbender@dair-community.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:

Emily was one of the co-authors on the “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots” paper and co-wrote the “Octopus Paper” with Alexander Koller. She was also recently profiled in New York Magazine and has written about why policymakers shouldn’t fall for the AI hype.
The Future of Life Institute put out the “Pause Giant AI Experiments” letter and the authors of the “Stochastic Parrots” paper responded through DAIR Institute.
Zachary Loeb has written about Joseph Weizenbaum and the ELIZA chatbot.
Leslie Kay Jones has researched how Black women use and experience social media.
As generative AI is rolled out, many tech companies are firing their AI ethics teams.
Emily points to Algorithmic Justice League and AI Incident Database.
Deborah Raji wrote about data and systemic racism for MIT Tech Review.
Books mentioned: Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil, Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Noble, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff, Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin, Ghost Work by Mary L Gray & Siddharth Suri, Artificial Unintelligence by Meredith Broussard, Design Justice by Sasha Costanza-Chock, Data Conscience: Algorithmic S1ege on our Hum4n1ty by Brandeis Marshall.

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How Amazon Reshapes Small Business to Serve Itself w/ Moira Weigel Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Moira Weigel to discuss the third-party sellers who supply many of the goods sold through Amazon, how the company’s policy decisions reshape small businesses to act like mini-Amazons, and what that means for regulatory responses.
Moira Weigel is an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University, a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard Law School, and a founding editor of Logic Magazine. Her most recent book is Voices from the Valley: Tech Workers Talk about What They Do--And How They Do It, co-edited with Ben Tarnoff. Follow Moira on Twitter at @moiragweigel.
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:

Moira recently wrote a report for Data & Society looking into Amazon’s “trickle-down monopoly,” and previously worked with Ava Kofman and Francis Tseng on research into white nationalist publishing on Amazon.
Aiha Nguyen and Eve Zelickson wrote a report on how Ring doorbells are used to surveil delivery workers.
Logic Magazine published an interview with an anonymous AWS engineer.
In March 2020, an Amazon seller bought 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer and tried to price gouge.
Marketplace Pulse found that Amazon fees for sellers now account for 51.8% of an average sale, rising from 35.2% in 2016.
Amazon is now the third-largest digital advertising company after Google and Facebook.
In January, John Herman wrote about the state of Amazon that touched on some of the Chinese brands.
Amazon has been scaling back its private label business, in part due to regulatory fears.
Books mentioned: Work and Alienation in the Platform Economy: Amazon and the Power of Organization by Sarrah Kassem, Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China's Countryside by Xiaowei Wang, and The Labor of Reinvention: Entrepreneurship in the New Chinese Digital Economy by Lin Zhang.

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Celebrating Three Years of Tech Won’t Save Us! Apr 01, 2023

Show notes

Tech Won’t Save Us is turning three years old, so Paris recorded a quick update on the show and announced plans for a new Elon Musk series if the show gets 200 new Patreon supporters in April.
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.

Support the show

What Drives Architects to Design Saudi Megaprojects? w/ Kate Wagner Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Kate Wagner to discuss the goals behind Saudi Arabia’s architectural megaprojects, the incentives for major architects to work on projects for despotic regimes, and how architecture’s relationship to tech is driven by profits and PR.
Kate Wagner is an architecture critic and journalist. She’s also the creator of McMansion Hell. Follow Kate on Twitter at @mcmansionhell.
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:

Kate wrote about Saudi Arabia’s big architecture projects, the problem with PR-chitecture, the ethical failings of modern architecture, and why utopian architectural projects suck.
In 2020, Bjarke Ingels met with Jair Bolsonaro about a tourism plan for Brazil.
Workers in the architecture industry have begun to unionize.

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Everyone Hates VCs After the SVB Collapse w/ Jacob Silverman Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

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.

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Robots Aren’t the Solution to Elder Care w/ James Wright Mar 16, 2023

Show notes

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.

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Why We Must Resist AI w/ Dan McQuillan Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

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.

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What New EU Rules Might Mean for Gig Workers w/ Ben Wray Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

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.

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The Consequences of Leaving Tech to the Private Sector w/ Rosie Collington Feb 23, 2023

Show notes

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.

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The Untold History of Silicon Valley w/ Malcolm Harris Feb 16, 2023

Show notes

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: