Tech Won't Save Us

Paris Marx is joined by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna to discuss the harms of generative AI, how the industry keeps the public invested while companies flounder under the weight of unmet promises, and what people can do to push back. Emily M. Bender is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at University of Washington. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Institute. They are the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9780063418561]. 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. Support the show on Patreon [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * New York Magazine reported on the consequences of increasingly widespread use of ChatGPT [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/openai-chatgpt-ai-cheating-education-college-students-school.html] in education. Support the show [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Paris Marx is joined by Tim Fernholz to discuss how Elon Musk’s influence in the White House is shaping the US Space Program, why he’s pushing NASA toward Mars instead of the Moon, and whether the Starship rocket is in trouble. Tim Fernholz is a senior reporter at Payload Space and the author of Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9781328592811]. 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. Support the show on Patreon. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Tim wrote about Donald Trump’s NASA budget [https://payloadspace.com/trumps-skinny-space-budget-winners-and-losers/] and Jared Isaacman’s confirmation hearing [https://payloadspace.com/isaacman-pays-the-moon-price-heads-for-senate-floor/]. * The Wall Street Journal wrote about Elon Musk’s plans to get NASA to refocus on Mars [https://www.wsj.com/business/elon-musk-nasa-mars-space-travel-d3978a7b]. * Trump’s proposed budget aims to cut NASA’s science budget by 47% [https://www.space.com/space-exploration/experts-alarmed-as-white-house-proposes-largest-single-year-cut-to-nasa-in-american-history] as part of a larger 24% cut to the agency’s top-line funding. * SpaceX’s Starship rocket is running into serious problems [https://futurism.com/spacex-new-starship-performing-worse]. Support the show [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Paris Marx is joined by Julia Carrie Wong to discuss Elon Musk’s recent opposition to empathy, how it comes out of the Christian right, and the relationship it has to previous discussions of longtermism.  Julia Carrie Wong is a features writer at The Guardian. 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. Support the show on Patreon [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Also mentioned in this episode: * Julia wrote about how the Christian right is reframing empathy [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/08/empathy-sin-christian-right-musk-trump] as a threat to civilization. In 2017, she also interviewed Elon Musk about worker injuries [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/18/tesla-workers-factory-conditions-elon-musk] at Tesla. * In February, none other than Pope Francis pushed back [https://newrepublic.com/article/191427/pope-francis-jd-vance-maga-dark-soul] on JD Vance’s use of a Christian theological concept to justify Trump’s inhumane immigration policies. Support the show [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Paris Marx is joined by Jason Koebler to discuss the economy behind AI slop generation, how people are building businesses on AI-generated images, and the wider consequences of their proliferation on social media. Jason Koebler is a cofounder of 404 Media and cohost of the 404 Media Podcast. 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. Support the show on Patreon [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Also mentioned in this episode: * Jason wrote about how Brainrot AI is monetized on Instagram [https://www.404media.co/brainrot-ai-on-instagram-is-monetizing-the-most-fucked-up-things-you-can-imagine-and-lots-you-cant/] and the wider effects of AI slop [https://www.404media.co/ai-slop-is-a-brute-force-attack-on-the-algorithms-that-control-reality/] on how we perceive reality. * He also wrote about how whether the tech industry’s bet on Donald Trump [https://www.404media.co/big-tech-backed-trump-for-acceleration-they-got-a-decel-president-instead/] is working out with Emanuel Maiberg. Support the show [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Paris Marx is joined by Laleh Khalili to discuss Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, the structural factors that allowed him to build an empire, and the many ways he’s shaped the modern tech industry. Laleh Khalili is Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Sinews of War and Trade [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9781786634825] and her forthcoming book Extractive Capitalism [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9781836740285]. 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. Support the show on Patreon [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Also mentioned in this episode: * Laleh wrote a review of a new book [https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n05/laleh-khalili/i-am-genghis-khan] about Masa. * She also mentioned The Box [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9780691170817] by Marc Levinson and The Next Shift [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9780674292192] by Gabriel Winant. Support the show [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]