Polymarket and Kalshi are everywhere. But what are they doing to society? Jathan Sadowski joins Paris Marx to discuss the rise of prediction markets and their negative social effects as they push the global economy closer toward the financialization of everything.

Jathan Sadowski is an Associate Professor at Monash University. He is the author of The Mechanic and the Luddite and co-hosts 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.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jathan wrote about Kalshi trying to bring about the financialization of everything in Fast Company.

• The NYT reported on the use of classified information by a US soldier to place a bet on the capture of Maduro.

• Wired just reported on how the US is using AI to spot insider trading.

• Polymarket users sent death threats to a reporter.

What happens when a government goes all in on AI? It creates some huge vulnerabilities. Will Dunn joins Paris Marx to dig into how the UK government is using chatbots to write laws without public consultation and why it isn’t asking the hard questions about the risks of that growing reliance on US technology.

Will Dunn is the business editor at the New Statesman.

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.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Will wrote about the UK government’s adoption of AI and the risks it presents.

• Rishi Sunak is working with Anthropic.

• Sunak acknowledges companies reliant on AI technology are hiring less young people.

• Will shouts out the book Fancy Bear Goes Phishing by Scott J. Shapiro.

Paris Marx is joined by Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian to discuss their new book Muskism which explores how Elon Musk exemplifies a new economic system shaping our lives, similar to Fordism in the twentieth century.

Ben Tarnoff & Quinn Slobodian are the authors of Muskism. Ben is a writer and technologist based in Massachusetts and the author of Internet for the People. Quinn is professor of international history at Boston University, and the author of books like Crack-Up Capitalism.

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.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• For listeners who are feeling extra academic, here is the Milton Friedman economics paper, “The Methodology of Positive Economics.”

• Quinn discusses his struggle to find any reporting on Jared Leto and the Optimus robot media stunt (that goes deeper than commenting on the virality).

Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss Apple’s announcement that Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO, including his history and legacy, and what may be next for the company.

Brian Merchant is the author of The One Device and Blood in the Machine and writes a newsletter of the same name.

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.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Brian’s most recent newsletter covers Tim Cook’s stepping down, as well as Palantir’s manifesto.

• Brian has previously written about Foxconn’s working conditions.

• Brian mentioned Patrick McGee’s book Apple in China.

Paris Marx is joined by Karl Bode to discuss how tech journalists coupled with corporate interests are irresponsibly boosting the profile of tech CEOs, further damaging public trust in institutional journalism and highlighting the need for publicly funded media organizations.

Karl Bode is a freelance reporter and writes The Fine Print newsletter.

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.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Karl wrote about how the press mythologizes tech CEOs.

• The New Yorker published a brutal article on Sam Altman’s compulsive lying to get ahead.

• OpenAI’s Pentagon deal led to a large user migration.

• Shout out to Karen Hao’s book Empire of AI

• Allbirds, the shoe company, is now entering the AI space.

• Here is the latest on the attacks on Sam Altman’s home.

• Meta has been found to amplify hate and contribute to genocide, something that is an ongoing concern with the platform. And we can’t forget about attempts to force their ‘Free Basics’ internet on India.

Paris Marx is joined by Dara Kerr to discuss how Elon’s decision to prioritize aesthetics over safety has created a safety crisis causing people to burn alive in their Cybertrucks and other Tesla vehicles.

Dara Kerr is a technology reporter at Guardian US.

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.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Dara wrote about fiery, deadly crashes involving Cybertrucks.

• Bloomberg has tracked the wider problem of Tesla door handles trapping occupants in their vehicles.

• Here is a report that supports the suggestion that Musk doesn’t like the colour yellow.

• Here is an analysis comparing the Cybertruck to the Ford Pinto.

• Cybertrucks are not approved for sale in the EU or UK.

• China is the first nation to legislate that handles must be mechanically functional from both sides of a vehicle door.

Paris Marx is joined by Amanda Mull to discuss the effects of constantly “monitoring the situation” through custom news, social, or live feeds, including higher rates of anxiety and disconnection, and what can be done to recalibrate.

Amanda Mull is a senior reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek and writes the Buying Power column.

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.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Amanda wrote about what it means to be monitoring the situation.

• Feeling overwhelmed by technology? There’s a club for that.

• Looking for a source of tech news? Checkout Aftermath, or Disconnect.

• Friend of the pod Casey Johnston has written about her DIY dumbphone method and reducing social media use.

Paris Marx is joined by Sam Biddle to discuss what it means for data centers to become targets in a war, and how Silicon Valley is aiding the US war against Iran.

Sam Biddle is a technology journalist at The Intercept.

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.

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The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Send your questions to mailbag [at] techwontsave [dot] us!

• Sam wrote about Iran’s attacks on data centers and its legality.

• Here is Sam’s most recent piece about Palantir and NYC public hospitals.

• The Intercept is also covering the role of social media in the US-Iranian war.

Paris Marx is joined by Spencer Ackerman to discuss the US and Israeli war on Iran, including the history that led to this moment and what we might see from here.

Spencer Ackerman is the author of Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump and the forthcoming book The Torture and Deliverance of Majid Khan. He also write the Forever Wars newsletter.

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.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• You can now watch episodes of Tech Won’t Save Us on YouTube!

• Spencer has written about the regime change in Iran, and the targeting of data centers in the conflict.

• Further reading on Iran’s ‘infrastructure war’.

• Here is the latest on discussions between the USA and Iran as of Monday March 23rd.

Paris Marx is joined by Ed Niedermeyer to discuss the years-long relationship between Elon Musk and Jeffrey Epstein, and how their relationship sheds light on the murky inner workings of the one percent.

Ed Niedermeyer is the author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors and a co-host of the Autonocast.

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.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

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Also mentioned in this episode:

• Ed has written two recent pieces about Elon Musk’s relationship with Epstein.

• Here’s more information on Juleanna Glover’s relationship with Epstein.

Paris Marx is joined by Gita Jackson to discuss why the left’s hatred of AI is justified, why a different approach to technology is necessary, and how they’re reassessing their own relationships with digital tech.

Gita Jackson is a co-founder of Aftermath.

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.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Gita wrote about why the left doesn’t hate technology.

• Gita also wrote about downloading digital music onto a Snowksy Fiio Echo Mini.

• Chris Person wrote about the Boox Palma eReader as an alternative to Kindle.

• Learn more about Mike Pondsmith and his Cyberpunk TTRPG.

• Gita will one day get Paris to watch Frieren.