Tech Won't Save Us

Paris Marx is joined by Meghan O’Gieblyn to discuss parallels between transhumanism and Christian narratives of resurrection, despite the fact many transhumanists identify as staunch atheists. Meghan O’Gieblyn is an advice columnist at Wired and the author of God, Human, Animal, Machine [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9780525562719]. 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://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry. Also mentioned in this episode: * Meghan wrote about transhumanism and religion [https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-28/essays/ghost-in-the-cloud/] for n+1. * Paris wrote about the religion of techno-optimism [https://disconnect.blog/the-religion-of-techno-optimism/] in Disconnect. * Amy Kurzweil wrote about her father’s chatbot [https://amykurzweil.com/artificial-a-love-story/] of his own father. * In China, AI “deathbots” are being used to help people grieve [https://restofworld.org/2024/china-ai-chatbot-dead-relatives/]. * Richard Dawkins now identifies as a “cultural Christian [https://unherd.com/newsroom/the-naivety-of-richard-dawkinss-cultural-christianity/]” (not Catholic, as Paris mistakenly said in the episode). Support the Show. [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Paris Marx is joined by Alex Shephard to discuss the legalization of sports betting in the United States, the growing influence of gambling in professional sports, and its negative impact on the lives of sports fans. Alex Shephard is a senior editor at The New Republic. 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://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry. Also mentioned in this episode: * Alex wrote about sports gambling [https://newrepublic.com/article/180373/ohtani-sports-gambling-addiction-crisis] for The New Republic. * The Wall Street Journal recent explored the wider backlash [https://www.wsj.com/sports/ohtani-sports-gambling-scandal-927fdd22] to sports betting in light of the Shohei Ohtani scandal. * Last year, the New York Times gutted its unionized sports section [https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/07/new-york-times-sports-grievance] to replace it with non-union writers at The Athletic. * Psychologist Meredith K. Ginley explained how sports betting apps hook people [https://theconversation.com/sports-betting-apps-notifications-and-leaderboards-encourage-more-and-more-wagers-a-psychologist-who-treats-gambling-addictions-explains-why-some-people-get-hooked-198358] on regular gambling. Support the Show. [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Paris Marx is joined by Edward Ongweso Jr. to discuss Kara Swisher’s attempt to rebrand herself as the most feared journalist in Silicon Valley, how she spent her career forwarding the industry’s narratives, and the larger problems with access journalism. Edward Ongweso Jr. is finance editor at Logics Magazine and co-host of This Machine Kills. 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://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry. Also mentioned in this episode: * Ed wrote a critical review [https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-miseducation-of-kara-swisher-ongweso] of Burn Book in The Baffler. * In Disconnect, Paris also wrote a critical review [https://disconnect.blog/kara-swishers-reality-distortion-field/] of Swisher’s book and explained his journey to becoming a tech critic [https://disconnect.blog/how-i-became-a-tech-critic/]. * In 2021, Kara told CNBC [https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/03/15/kara-swisher-on-nfts-just-because-its-digital-doesnt-mean-its-not-of-value.html] that just because NFTs are digital “doesn’t mean it’s not of value.” The following year she also defended promoting investments in crypto [https://amycastor.com/2022/05/23/kara-swisher-promotes-cryptos-for-your-retirement-compares-it-to-early-internet/] for retirement. Support the Show. [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Paris Marx is joined by Kat Tenbarge to discuss the proliferation of AI-generated, non-consensual sexual images, their impact on the victims, and the potential fallout for tech companies who helped make it all possible. Note there is some discussion of self-harm and suicide in this episode. Kat Tenbarge is a tech and culture writer at NBC News. 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://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry. Also mentioned in this episode: * Kat has reported extensively on this issue, including stories about fake nude images of underage celebrities toping search engine results [https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/fake-nude-photos-faces-underage-celebrities-top-search-engine-results-rcna136828], nonconsensual deepfake porn showing up on Google and Bing [https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/google-bing-deepfake-porn-image-celebrity-rcna130445] too, Visa and Mastercard being used to fund [https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/deepfake-porn-ai-mr-deep-fake-economy-google-visa-mastercard-download-rcna75071] the deepfake economy, and why plans for watermarking [https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/watermark-deepfake-solution-ai-misinformation-cant-stop-de-rcna137370] aren’t enough. * Another Body [https://anotherbodyfilm.com] is a documentary that looks at the scale of the problem of non-consensual deepfake explicit images. * Microsoft’s Designer AI tool [https://www.404media.co/microsoft-closes-loophole-that-created-ai-porn-of-taylor-swift/] was used to create AI porn of Taylor Swift. * Middle and high schools in Seattle [https://www.404media.co/what-was-she-supposed-to-report-police-report-shows-how-a-high-school-deepfake-nightmare-unfolded/], Miami [https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/8/24094633/deepfake-ai-explicit-images-florida-teenagers-arrested], and Beverley Hills [https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/beverly-hills-school-expels-students-deepfake-nude-photos-rcna142480] are among those already facing the consequences of AI-generated and deepfake nude images. * In 2014, Jennifer Lawrence called [https://apnews.com/7d27681e80de43ff8296b08af5742f31] the iCloud photo hack a “sex crime.” Support the Show. [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]

Paris Marx is joined by Zach Weinersmith to discuss why building space colonies will be much more difficult than the space billionaires want us to believe. Zach Weinersmith co-wrote A City On Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9781984881724] with Kelly Weinersmith. He also makes the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal [https://www.smbc-comics.com] comic. 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://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus]. The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry. Also mentioned in this episode: * An excerpt [https://www.space.com/city-on-mars-book-excerpt-weinersmiths] of A City on Mars was published by Space.com. Support the Show. [https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus]