Tech Won't Save Us

Paris Marx celebrates the 300th episode of Tech Won’t Save Us by sharing his reasons to push for digital sovereignty and get off US tech. On top of explaining how that dependence gives the US governments and its tech companies power over us, Paris also provides tips of alternative services to consider migrating to. 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 Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Here is the Disconnect post [https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/] offering a comprehensive list of options for getting off US tech. * Producer Kyla seconds the recommendation of the library [https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/more-than-books-10-different-ways-public-libraries-make-our-lives-better/] as an alternative to streaming, audiobooks, big box bookstores, and for plenty of other benefits (including inviting us to be more active community members). * Trump’s sanctions [https://apnews.com/article/icc-trump-sanctions-karim-khan-court-a4b4c02751ab84c09718b1b95cbd5db3] against chief ICC prosecutor Karim Kahn has delayed proceedings, and resulted in Microsoft cancelling his email service. * Here’s more information about when JD Vance annoyed most of Europe [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceve3wl21x1o] by comparing their governments to authoritarian regimes. * Learn more about Alexandre de Moraes [https://www.techpolicy.press/trumps-attack-on-brazils-sovereignty-may-backfire-on-us-tech-firms/] and his efforts to regulate US tech in Brazil.

Paris Marx is joined by Joanne McNeil to discuss the proliferation of delivery bots and robotaxis and how they recycle disproven claims about how technology will improve transportation. Joanne McNeil is a freelance writer and the author of Wrong Way [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9780374610661] and Lurking: How a Person Became a User [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9781250785756]. 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 Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Joanne wrote about delivery bots and robotaxis for the New York Review of Architecture [https://nyra.nyc/articles/waymo-money-waymo-problems]. * She’s doing an event in Los Angeles [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-comes-after-social-media-a-talk-book-signing-with-joanne-mcneil-tickets-1661480074629] discussing social media on November 1. * Uber’s driverless car killed a pedestrian, and the company scapegoated the backup driver [https://www.npr.org/2023/07/28/1190866476/autonomous-uber-backup-driver-pleads-guilty-death]. * Sleep Dealer [https://alexrivera.com/2022/01/21/sleep-dealer/] is a sci-fi movie by Alex Rivera. * A GM Cruise self-driving car hit a pedestrian [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/11/after-robotaxi-dragged-pedestrian-20-feet-cruise-founder-and-ceo-resigns/] and dragged them 20 feet before stopping. * Even Chuck E. Cheese is getting into the ghost kitchen business [https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/the-popular-ghost-kitchen-that-was-just-chuck-e-cheese-pizza-with-a-new-name/ar-AA1OJPen].

Paris Marx is joined by Chris Gilliard to discuss how tech CEOs are pushing a new generation of AI-powered smart glasses by promising they’ll be stylish and indispensable to workers in a desperate attempt to convince us we should want their luxury surveillance gadgets. Chris Gilliard is the co-director of the Critical Internet Studies Institute [https://www.criticalinternet.org] and is working on a book called Luxury Surveillance. 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 Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Harvard students used Meta glasses to dox strangers [https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2024/10/03/metas-ray-ban-smart-glasses-used-to-instantly-dox-strangers-in-public-thanks-to-ai-and-facial-recognition/]. * Apple tinkered with its AI [https://www.politico.eu/article/apple-teaching-artificial-intelligence-adapt-to-trump-era/] shortly after Trump was inaugurated. * AI may start answering 911 calls [https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/mcpd-plans-ai-answer-non-220739079.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAELeq_l7pjTHaCRZWiRLBbpIxXHmdsKHTo-UcVF5EjHoGJ9pbajb4zva482TvdYBseub_XNYFjm_Y-U7ZEoXFbYeAvhKUrvvi3azMJpZLHS7D9cUakxYZlhElp-cytByRzj4Qgvqk1aaQk43ij8RVMkRJl6G7gdzcFTJJUttg3Tz]. * Studies are suggesting that AI may be making doctors worse at diagnosing cancer [https://time.com/7309274/ai-lancet-study-artificial-intelligence-colonoscopy-cancer-detection-medicine-deskilling/]. * Rob Horning has written about overreliance on AI [https://robhorning.substack.com/p/overreliance-as-a-service]. * Chris mentioned Emily Bender and her analogy comparing LLMs to plastic [https://buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/friends-dont-let-friends-prompt/].

Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss Jacob’s new book Gilded Rage, which explores the radicalization of Silicon Valley leaders, who are exerting their growing influence to shape our society for the worse. Jacob Silverman is an independent journalist and the author of Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9781399419987]. 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 Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Jacob recently wrote about Musk’s latest dodgy business dealings [https://www.thenation.com/article/world/elon-musk-ai-saudi-funding/]. * The world continues [https://www.vox.com/politics/462706/trump-corruption-tom-homan-bribery] to wonder [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/27/trump-flaunting-corruption] at Trump’s ability to get away with corruption and scandal. * Saudi Arabia has been involved in Silicon Valley [https://www.npr.org/2025/05/15/nx-s1-5398586/why-top-tech-ceos-joined-trump-on-his-trip-to-saudi-arabia] more than folks may have realized (prior to the EA buyout [https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/electronic-arts-video-game-maker-leveraged-buyout-1.7646174], anyway).

Paris Marx is joined by Tina Nguyen to discuss the divisions within the American far-right between the Trump administration, the wider MAGA movement, and the tech executives trying to show they’re on their side. Tina Nguyen is a senior reporter at The Verge and author of The MAGA Diaries: My Surreal Adventures Inside the Right-Wing (And How I Got Out) [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9781982189709]. 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 Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Tina wrote about visiting NatCon [https://www.theverge.com/politics/773154/maga-tech-right-ai-natcon] and Charlie Kirk’s memorial event [https://www.theverge.com/policy/783707/charlie-kirk-memorial-christian-nationalism-maga]. * Tina also wrote about Peter Thiel’s ongoing obsession with the antichrist [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/785407/peter-thiel-antichrist-tech-regulation]. * Jared Isaacman was revoked as a candidate to lead NASA [https://www.space.com/space-exploration/i-was-a-good-visible-target-jared-isaacman-on-why-trump-pulled-his-nasa-chief-nomination], highlighting the rifts Tina is discussing. * Elon Musk is talking about starting a new political party [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dn04lvgpdo].