Stop Feeling Helpless About AI
+ 'Screenagers', Bottom G, Labububot, armpods, pew-tubers, Richard Dawkins' AI gf, ASMR subliminals, luxury micro dramas, young Wikipedians, The Clippening, & the rise of the young founder-influencer
Happy Friday! I’m starting a Free Speech Friday livestream in about 15 min on my livestreaming channel, so join in. Tomorrow I’m heading to London for a week then Berlin. In London I’m hoping to meet with activists fighting for free speech and civil liberties online, especially people involved in the fight against online “age” verification/Digital ID. Then, in Berlin, I’m giving a talk at re:publica on the importance of online anonymity. If there’s anyone you think I should meet with or connect with on my travels, please reach out!
The Violent History of Resisting Technology
What if everything you've been told about technological progress is a lie? AI is changing our lives faster than ever, but resistance to technology is not new. For this week's Free Speech Friday I spoke with academic Thomas Dekeyser, author of the new book Techno-Negative: A Long History of Refusing the Machine, about the history of anti-technology movements, from ancient Greece to Luddites smashing machines in the Industrial Revolution to anarchist groups bombing computer companies in the 1980s.
We discuss AI, labor automation, surveillance, moral panic, Silicon Valley ideology, tech CEOs, machine breaking, environmental destruction, and why backlash against technology keeps returning throughout history. We also explore whether technological progress actually benefits ordinary people, or mainly serves corporations and power. Sometimes it's not what you think!