Tech Won't Save Us

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].

Paris Marx is joined by Ed Niedermeyer to discuss the mission to turn Elon Musk into the world’s first trillionaire, Tesla’s growing interest in making robots instead of cars, and how other automakers are coming for the EV market it once dominated. Ed Niedermeyer is the author of Ludicrous [https://bookshop.org/a/18331/9781948836128] and co-host of the Autonocast [https://www.autonocast.com]. 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 [https://www.thenation.com]. Production is by Kyla Hewson. Also mentioned in this episode: * Tesla is paying out a series [https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-settles-two-lawsuits-2019-california-crashes-related-autopilot-software-2025-09-16/] of lawsuits [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93dqpkwx4xo], and the California DMV has called for a one-month ban on Teslas being driven in the state [https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/9/18/eyeing-the-future-of-self-driving-cars-musks-tesla-settles-accident-case]. * Curious to see what Tesla’s current Optimus robot [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-hit-backlash-over-bizarre-231500117.html] is like? * Is Tesla the world’s biggest meme stock [https://fortune.com/2025/09/06/elon-musk-1-trillion-compensation-pay-package-tesla-shareholders-governance/]? * Tesla lied about data relating to a fatal accident until a hacker found it [https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/08/how-a-hacker-helped-win-a-wrongful-death-lawsuit-against-tesla/]. * ICE raided a Hyundai plant [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy50yge052xo] earlier this month.

Paris Marx is joined by Caroline Haskins to discuss what Palantir actually does and the growing influence it has within the US government and many large corporations. Caroline Haskins is a staff writer at Wired [https://www.wired.com/author/caroline-haskins/]. 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: * Peter Thiel is giving a series of lectures on the Antichrist [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-09-09/peter-thiel-s-antichrist-lectures-are-a-safe-move-for-the-palantir-billionaire]. * Caroline wrote about Palantir [%E2%81%A0https://www.wired.com/story/palantir-what-the-company-does/] and getting confronted by the company [https://www.wired.com/story/palantir-defense-conference-journalists/] at a conference. * Paris mentioned a connection between Paypal and the founding of Palantir; a founding story for Palantir [https://archive.ph/20250207164133/https://www.wired.com/story/joining-the-dots/] is that the concept for the company grew from the desire to use the fraud-detection software designed for PayPal to build counterterrorism software. * Palantir is having a much better financial year [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/28/palantir-tech-stocks.html] than the rest of Silicon Valley.