Episode notes
We chat all about the growing market for humanoid robots. What are the financial incentives and social ideologies driving the creation of technologies designed to directly mimic (and replace) humans—even though such designs make little sense as engineering choices? What kind of society makes these technologies attractive for investors and consumers, but also ultimately doomed to fail as solutions for real problems? ••• Are Humanoid Robots Ready to Be Deployed? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/06/are-humanoid-robots-ready-to-be-deployed ••• The Repo Man Coming for Your Ride…
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This Machine Kills
This Machine Kills · Tech & Science · English
A podcast about technology and political economy /// Agitprop against innovation and capital /// Hosted by Jathan Sadowski and Edward Ongweso Jr., Produced by Jereme Brown /// Hello friends and enemies Listen anywhere that fine podcasts are distributed. Subscribe at patreon.com/thismachinekills to
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We’re joined by Nik Suresh, director of Hermit Tech and excellent blogger on the software industry. You might know Nik for an incredible essay he wrote a couple years ago about piledriving anybody who mentions AI. Well he’s back at it with another great piece analysing the AI mania that has seemingly possessed every manager in every institution in every sector. We chat about where this mania comes from, how it’s manifesting, and what happens when reality eventually catches up to these delusions. ••• Nik’s company website: https://hermit-tech.com/ ••• AI Mania Is Eviscerating Global…
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First we get into a very circular (the strongest shape in nature) deal between Nvidia, OpenAI, and Softbank to finance a $250 billion 10-gigawatt data center complex, powered by a natural gas plant built by the US and Japanese governments, on a decommissioned uranium-enrichment site in Ohio, which will be filled by a further $350 billion of chips sold and financed by Nvidia. All very normal stuff. Then we revisit the hysteria over retail theft, why every pharmacy is a prison, and the admission by companies that “maybe we cried too much” about a problem that doesn’t exist. Vibes are a very…
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467. Industrial Policy by Other Means (ft. Matt Haugen, Jesse Goldstein)
We chat with Matt Haugen and Jesse Goldstein from the Climate + Community Institute about a new report they co-authored laying out how the US is engaging in industrial policy for AI development in ways that are often indirect, inconsistent, and interpersonal, but ultimately are configured around supporting a specific configuration of (venture) capitalist strategy for intensive, rapid development, all while making political economic choices that prioritize anti-social infrastructure over social well-being and environmental protections. ••• AI First: How the Federal Government is Prioritizing…
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461. The Book of Ludd
“Welcome to the Church of Ludd, it’s nice to see you join our congregation. Please pick up a pamphlet as you walk in, which explains how to set up your religious exemption from using AI at your workplace.” — After a fun story about religious refusal of AI, we then chat about the various policy proposals being put forth by folks like Sam Altman and Bernies Sanders which outline how public wealth funds, equity stakes in AI companies, and dividend payments can buy the public’s trust in these technologies. ••• She won a religious exemption from using AI at work. The Pope's remarks could fuel…
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