Paris Marx is joined by James Vincent to discuss why we’re seeing humanoid robots everywhere, the motivations to pursue an all-purpose robot, how close we are to achieving that goal, and the social implications if we were to achieve it.

James Vincent is a UK-based journalist and author of Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants.

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:

• James wrote about what kicking robots can tell us about the state of modern robotics

• Rodney Brooks makes a case for the difficulty in teaching robots human dexterity

• Here is an in-depth look at what Agility Robotics has been working on

• Shout-out to the 2008 movie Sleep Dealer

• Japanese convenience stores are using robots run by offshore operators

• This is what a toilet cleaning robot looks like

Paris Marx is joined by Thea Riofrancos to discuss the global struggle to move away from fossil fuels and the future of the green transition, including the limitations of existing supply chains, geopolitical tensions, and the tech industry's role in the growth of extractive industries.

Thea Riofrancos is the author of Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism. She is also Associate Professor of Political Science at Providence College and Strategic Co-Director of the Climate and Community Institute.

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:

• Thea has written about Trump’s resource nationalism and the resources needed for a green transition.

• The Climate and Community Institute has done a lot of research on mining and transportation.

• Indonesia has been building out a ton of coal plants to power its nickel industry.

Paris Marx is joined by AS Hamrah to discuss the proposed Netflix-Warner Bros Discovery merger and what it might mean for the state of decline already facing modern cinema.

AS Hamrah is a film critic at n+1 and the author of Algorithm of the Night and Last Week in End Times Cinema.

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:

• AS Hamrah wrote the piece Time to Face Reality on reality television, and this piece on the state of modern cinema

• New York Magazine published a feature on the Ellisons and their vision for Hollywood after taking over Paramount

• Here’s the latest on the Netflix-Warner deal

• Here’s more information on the ruling on Paramount Consent Decrees

Paris Marx is joined by Kat Tenbarge to discuss the explosion of abusive deepfakes on X, including how Elon Musk is profiting from the sexual exploitation of women and children while his followers use Grok to engage in gender-based violence.

Kat Tenbarge is an independent journalist who writes Spitfire News.

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:

• Kat has been thoroughly covering the Grok and XAI deepfake and sexual abuse story

• Paris wrote about why the Grok scandal shows we need more comprehensive tech regulation

• The deepfake documentary mentioned was called Another Body

• You can see the result of Megan Thee Stallion’s defamation lawsuit here

• Grok was blocked in Indonesia and Malaysia in response to its generation of explicit images

Paris Marx is joined by Chris Person to discuss the state of hardware and manufacturing in the tech industry, ways to hack your stuff, options to undermine Microsoft’s software dominance, and how the AI boom is making consumer electronics more expensive.

Chris Person is a co-founder of Aftermath and makes Highlight Reel.

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:

• CES showcased some weird gadgets this month.

• Chris recently wrote about how AI is affecting tying your shoes.

• Chris also wrote about the new Steam Machine.

• Paris wrote about how to get off US tech.

• A peak inside Chinese dark factories.

• For those interested in learning more about Bazzite.

• Canva buys Affinity.

• Chris shouts out Gamers Nexus.

• For those who want to dive deeper on RAM pricing.

Paris Marx marks the beginning of 2026 by discussing some of the big themes that will be moving the conversations he’ll be having this year, particularly digital sovereignty and rethinking the value of the tech we admit into our lives.

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:

• Paris wrote about the lessons of the US invasion of Venezuela and why we need to reassess our relationship to digital technology.

• Paris co-authored a white paper on reclaiming digital sovereignty.

• A digital detox is a great way to review your current relationship with tech.

Paris Marx is joined by Karen Hao to discuss how Sam Altman’s goal of scale at all costs has spawned a new empire founded on exploitation of people and the environment, resulting in not only the loss of valuable research into more inventive AI systems, but also exacerbated data privacy issues, intellectual property erosion, and the perpetuation of surveillance capitalism.

Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and the author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI.

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. This episode originally aired in June 2025.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Karen was the first journalist to profile OpenAI.

• Karen has reported on the environmental impacts and human costs of AI.

• The New York Times reported on why we're unlikely to get artificial general intelligence anytime soon.

Paris Marx is joined by Liz Pelly to discuss how Spotify changes how we listen to music and the broader impacts it has on the wider music industry. This episode previously aired in February 2025.

Liz Pelly is a music journalist and the author of Mood Machine.

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. Production for this episode was originally by Eric Wickham.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Shout-out to the book The People’s Platform by Astra Taylor

• You can read an excerpt of Liz’s book in Harper’s.

• The CEO of Suno AI said people “don’t enjoy” making music.

• The Edmonton Public Library was mentioned for spearheading some cool projects featuring local musicians - combat capitalism by supporting the cool projects operating out of your own local library!

• Hoopla works with local libraries to share music (and Libby partners with libraries to share audiobooks)

Paris Marx is joined by Jathan Sadowski and Brian Merchant to reflect on the year in tech, discuss the worst people in Silicon Valley, and share what they’ll be keeping an eye on in 2026.

Jathan Sadowski is the author of The Mechanic and the Luddite, co-host of This Machine Kills, and a Senior Lecturer at Monash University. Brian Merchant is the author of 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:

• Visit Francesca Bria’s useful Authoritarian Stack

• Trump signs an executive order to keep states from implementing their own AI legislation

• The Trump administration is gutting the Department of Education, climate science programs, and public health

• Disney and OpenAI have reached a billion dollar deal

• Bernie Sanders calls for a moratorium on AI data centre construction

Paris Marx is joined by Cam Wilson to discuss the new social media age limit in Australia, including how successful the rollout has been so far and the missed opportunities of taking a more nuanced regulatory approach.

Cam Wilson is an associate editor at Crikey and writes The Sizzle newsletter. He’s a co-author of Conspiracy Nation: Exposing the Dangerous World of Australian Conspiracy Theories.

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:

• Cam wrote about his experience reporting on the social media age limit debate and the removal of the exemption framework.

• Paris wrote about his thoughts on social media age limits and the need for much more comprehensive regulations on social media.

• 64% of US teens are using chatbots daily.

• Submit questions to Paris for an upcoming mailbag episode at [email protected]

• Patreon supporters can join the year-end livestream this Friday, Dec 19 at 6PM ET

Paris Marx is joined by Ben Wray to discuss the Europe’s capitulation to pressure from the United States on Nexperia, as well as on digital protections and labor rights that could have big implications for the future of work.

Ben Wray is a researcher specializing in the platform economy. He writes the Gig Economy Project newsletter and his most recent report for the ETUC is called Uberisation.

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.

Today’s sponsors are ExpressVPN and ⁠Aura Frames. Get four months free by visiting ExpressVPN.com/TWSU. Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at ⁠https://on.auraframes.com/PARIS⁠. Promo Code PARIS

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Ben wrote about the brief attempt by the Dutch to nationalize Nexperia.

• In leaked documents from 2012-2017 Uber executives recognize their own illegal activity and refer to themselves as ‘pirates’.

• Spain recently ordered Meta to pay €479m fine for breaching EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)