Big Tech Is the New Feudalism: How to Fight Back

Big Tech Is the New Feudalism: How to Fight Back

“If you find that you’ve dug yourself into a hole, the very first thing to do is quit digging.” That old country saying has a newly-urgent relevance to us today, for Big Tech, Big Finance, and Big Government are colluding to dig us into the unfathomable hole of artificial intelligence. All across the country, entire communities are in an uproar as they learn that thousands of massive, billionaire-financed data centers are quietly being approved by their government officials, usurping farmland, local water supplies, and each area’s electric grid. Why? So über-rich prigs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos can impose their grandiose, zillion-dollar schemes to displace us human workers with super-intelligent bots. What’s not to like about that? But wait… there are other major problems, including the sickening drone of gigantic cooling systems in each data center, running non-stop year-round, destroying community tranquility and people’s sanity; the sudden rise of global warming emissions caused by data center use of fossil fuels; the creation of easy targets for drone attacks on these sprawling interconnected computer networks; and the wholesale diversion of America’s research funding and talent to the private projects of billionaires. Far worse, though, is that AI is the key for Musk, Bezos, and whoever to impose a feudal, fascist, technocratic, rule over the rest of us – all in the name of progress. Maybe we should question this “future” before surrendering to it! To help guide us, New York Times columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom recommends such useful books as “The Nerd Reich [https://www.thenerdreich.com/],” “Technofeudalism [https://bookshop.org/p/books/technofeudalism-what-killed-capitalism-yanis-varoufakis/081c0a562b90ca0c],” and “End Times Fascism [https://bookshop.org/p/books/end-times-fascism-and-the-fight-for-the-living-world-astra-taylor/66802b8005ce0f8f]” – plus Pope Leo’s encyclical letter on AI [https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html]. Follow Tressie’s series on battling Big Tech at JimHightower.com/TMC [http://JimHightower.com/TMC]. Do something! Here are some organizations and coalitions that are fighting this technofascist/feudalist future: * AI Now [https://ainowinstitute.org/]: An independent research institute providing expert analysis on AI in the public interest * Athena Coalition [https://athenaforall.org/]: Originally focused on fighting Amazon, this huge coalition is taking on AI invasions and data center exploitation Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe [https://jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Moneyed Powers Are Forcing Art and Artisans Out of Our Towns

The great thing about “art towns” is, of course, the artists who live there and their art. So why are so many art town officials deliberately and stupidly driving artists out of town? I live in such a place: Austin, Texas. For beaucoup years, it welcomed and nurtured a blessing of creators – from buskers to tap dancers, muralists to neon sign artists. Neon Signs? Yes, magical artisans who can bend glass tubes into delightful expressive shapes that light-up to identify a community and culture as something more than just another concrete-and-steel erection of corporate power. One such creative is Todd Sanders [https://www.roadhouserelics.com/], an Austin pop artist who for three decades has preserved and advanced this eclectic community’s proud claim to be “Keeping Austin Weird.” I was personally plugged into that identity when Susan DeMarco, Floyd Domino, and I broadcast a two-hour daily radio talk-show across America from a down-home Austin restaurant named Threadgill’s. Behind us on the stage, was a Todd Sanders gem – a 3x5 foot neon sign, flashing “Hightower Radio… On the Air.” But multimillion-dollar developers – backed by a city council now promoting Austin as a mecca for high-tech billionaires – have no room for funky grassroots “weirdness.” They’ve jacked-up city property taxes and artists rents in a corporate gentrification frenzy that has squeezed Sanders’ neon shop and others out of Austin. The good news is that art perseveres, so Sanders’ studio and art gallery found a welcoming spot 80 miles east of us in the small town of Round Top. But Round Top artisans will be next if we keep letting profiteers, with no values beyond money, define who we are, restricting who we can become. Do something! When we had an office in east Austin, we shared it with Austin Creative Alliance [https://www.austincreativealliance.org/]—check them out to help keep Austin’s arts scene thriving. Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe [https://jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Voters Rebel Against Effort by Missouri GOP to Kill Voter Rights

It’s no secret that voters are increasingly disgusted by today’s extremist, right-wing Republican lawmakers. But less known is the fact that extremist GOP lawmakers are even more disgusted by you voters! They’re so disgusted that a top legislative priority of Republican leaders in the White House, Congress, and state legislatures is to rig election rules, literally to rule-out issues and voters they don’t like. For example, Republicans in Missouri (the “Show Me” State) showed us what they’re made of by attempting to kill the people’s right to amend their state’s constitution. Missouri and 25 other states have long provided a citizen-led [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiatives_and_referendums_in_the_United_States] initiative process [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiatives_and_referendums_in_the_United_States]so the people can propose and pass their own laws, rather than always depending on politicians to “do what’s right.” Yes – it’s direct democracy! But the people (damn them!) have been passing things like providing health care for the poor and raising the minimum wage. So, “No-no!” screeched Republican leaders and corporate lobbyists, who otherwise control the entire state government. In a perversion of people power, they wrote a ballot initiative that, effectively, would leave direct democracy “dead” in Missouri. [https://my.lwv.org/missouri/article/league-women-voters-missouri-strongly-opposes-hjr3-which-requires-majority-all-8-districts] Clever, huh? Use the initiative process to kill the initiative process. But the people rallied, exposed the fraud, and in a massive turnout of voters in last week’s elections 80 percent – 80 percent! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Missouri_Amendment_4] – rejected the establishment’s anti-democracy ploy. Missourians showed ‘em – but anti-democracy elites are now pushing direct-voter bans in 15 other states, including Arizona, Florida, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Utah. To keep track and shove back against these plutocratic power grabs, connect with the nationwide monitoring and grassroots campaigns of the Fairness Project: thefairnessproject.org [http://thefairnessproject.org]. More from Missouri Want to keep up with Missourians who are fighting the good fight? Here are some rabble rousers whose work we love: * Jess Piper [https://substack.com/profile/21725939-jess-piper] and her newsletter, The View from Rural Missouri by Jess Piper [https://open.substack.com/pub/jesspiper] * Will Westmoreland [https://substack.com/profile/91271260-will-westmoreland] - his newsletter is here [https://westmorelandpops.substack.com/]! Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe [https://jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Corporate CEOs Demand Big Bucks – Plus Nickels and Dimes

Until recently, corporate executives were eager to demonstrate how “green” they were. But then came Trump, trashing the very idea of a green economy. So, to appease the vengeful Republican, obsequious CEOs rushed to dump their green principles. Except for one especially verdant area of the corporate culture: CEO compensation. As widely reported, top executive pay has surged during the Trump regime. But wait, they want more, so other tendrils of executive pay have sprouted and grown like Jack’s beanstalk, further separating those at the top from the rest of us. Wall Street Journal reporters have uncovered some $600 million in [https://www.fastcompany.com/91580368/major-us-firms-spent-600-million-on-perks-for-executives]executive perks [https://www.fastcompany.com/91580368/major-us-firms-spent-600-million-on-perks-for-executives] that big corporations shelled out to their honchos last year. For example, investors in Apollo, the avaricious Wall Street huckster, laid out nearly a million for luxury limo and chauffeur services so their billionaire CEO wouldn’t have to open the car door by himself. For tax purposes, Apollo called this a “security measure,” rather than the pompous plutocratic perk it is. Already overpaid, these royals have come to expect all of life’s needs and whims to be covered, including: * $121,000 in free tickets to ballgames to please the multimillionaire chief of Roto-Rooter, who is said to be “a huge sports fan.” * $20,000 in booze for the head of a liquor conglomerate, which insists the freebie is awarded to enhance the boss’ “knowledge of the product.” * And a $492 payout to cover the maintenance cost on a home generator for the chief of Hewlett Packard – who is paid $23 million a year. An old adage claims that it’s the little things that matter… and these CEO entitlements show just how little corporate “leaders” have become. Do something! To stay on top of all-things-CEO-pay, check out Inequality.org’s work on the topic [https://inequality.org/topics/executive-pay/] and take action with the organizations they recommend here [https://inequality.org/resources/organizations/organizing-projects/]. Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe [https://jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

The Data Center Revolt Is a Populist Rebellion Against Corporate Rule

Not that it matters, but sometimes I wonder if the billionaire potentates of artificial intelligence ever wonder why they’ve become so despised. I doubt it, since introspection doesn’t seem to be in the DNA of hubristic AI demigods like Bezos, Musk, and Zuckerberg. Nor are they programming such qualities into their “superintelligent bots.” So, let me help them see themselves. First, today’s eruptions of public hatred toward them are not, as they want us to believe, just petty jealousy by people who want to be like them. Really… be like Musk? His ugliness is not just skin-deep – it emanates from his inner core. Such aloof AI profiteers have sparked a nationwide prairie fire of anger [https://datacenteropposition.com/] by plundering local water supplies, farmland, electric power, and tax subsidies. They’re callously treating our communities as nothing more than a series of financial transactions for them to be consummate. But people’s rebellion is not merely about monetary prices and property. Fundamentally, it’s fueled by corporate elites’ total disregard for the basic human value of Fairness. Even pre-school children comprehend the moral implication of “That’s not fair!” The corporate gold rush to an AI future is not about the mystical possibilities of technology, but old-fashioned greed – moneyed elites grabbing more profits and control. And there’s nothing fair about either. The spreading rebellion against AI arrogance is raising a politically explosive moral question: “Who the Hell elected you selfish screw-ups to dictate our future?” Musk & Co. say they don’t even believe in democracy, so why would We the People let them remake society in their totalitarian image? To join your local rebellion, go to jimhightower.com/datacenters [http://jimhightower.com/datacenters]. Do something! There are more and more groups forming around the country to fight this exploitation— so many that we’re having a hard time keeping track of them all! Here are a few hubs that will help you find your way to join the rebellion: * Data Center Opposition Report [https://datacenteropposition.com/]: A regularly-published comprehensive report on the numbers of fights out there, with case studies for inspiration * The Stop Data Centers Coalition has a list of member organizations [https://stopdatacenterscoalition.org/full-list-of-organizations-calling-for-a-national-data-center-moratorium/] who are calling for a national data center moratorium * The Coalition for Responsible Data Center Development, a Minnesota based organization, has published a map of Facebook groups [https://www.datacenterresponsibility.com/mapofcommunityorganizations] all over the country fighting data centers * One of our top go-to resources are the toolkits that MediaJustice [https://mediajustice.org/tools/] has created * Kairos Fellowship also has a slew of guides [https://www.kairosfellows.org/fightdatacenters]and is developing a hotline that local groups can call for advice. Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe [https://jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]