app_store_button

google_play_button

DK - Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Nyd den ubegrænsede adgang til tusindvis af spændende e- og lydbøger - helt gratis

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

Paris Marx

Silicon Valley wants to shape our future, but why should we let it? Every Thursday, Paris Marx is joined by a new guest to critically examine the tech industry, its big promises, and the people behind them. Tech Won’t Save Us challenges the notion that tech alone can drive our world forward by showing that separating tech from politics has consequences for us all, especially the most vulnerable. It’s not your usual tech podcast.

Tech Won't Save Us

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.

The Left Doesn’t Hate Technology w/ Gita Jackson

Paris Marx is joined by Tim Schwab to discuss the evolving story of Bill Gates and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, as well as the issues that arise from allowing billionaires to use philanthropy to push personal political agendas and launder their reputations.

Tim Schwab is the author of The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire.

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:

 
Tim wrote about why Bill Gates should be removed from the foundation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

 
Here is the interview Melinda French Gates did with NPR

 
Here is the Wall Street Journal article covering Bill Gates apology to Gates Foundation staff for his relationship with Epstein

Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein w/ Tim Schwab

Paris Marx is joined by Amanda Hanna-McLeer and Lucy Jackson to discuss the story of The Luddite Club, from its beginnings as a high school organization to its pivot into a non-profit and growth into an international movement.

Amanda Hanna-McLeer is a writer, educator, and director of The Luddite Club documentary. Lucy Jackson is an early member of the Luddite Club.

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.

Go to surfshark.com/SAVEUS to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN, plus there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee or just punch in code SAVEUS at checkout! 

Also mentioned in this episode:

 
The original New York Times article featuring the club

 
Amanda shouts out Brian Merchant’s book The One Device and Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing

 
The film discussed was John Carpenter’s 1988 sci-fi horror film They Live

The Luddite Club is For Everyone w/ Amanda Hanna-McLeer & Lucy Jackson

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.

Exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan at https://incogni.com/saveus. Promo Code SAVEUS

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

What’s Driving the Push For Humanoid Robots w/ James Vincent

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.

The Green Transition Needs So Much Mining w/ Thea Riofrancos

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

Netflix Buying Warner Would Be a Disaster w/ AS Hamrah

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

Elon Musk Profits Off Non-Consensual Deepfakes w/ Kat Tenbarge

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.

Bring Back Meddling With Tech Hardware w/ Chris Person

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.

Reimagining Our Relationship with Digital Tech w/ Paris Marx

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.

We All Suffer from OpenAI’s Pursuit of Scale w/ Karen Hao [Replay]

Tech Won't Save Us challenges the notion that technology alone can solve our problems. Full episodes coming very soon.
Support the show

A Brief Introduction

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

Other podcasts you might like ...