This Machine Kills

By: This Machine Kills
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  • Summary

  • A podcast about technology and political economy /// Agitprop against innovation and capital /// Hosted by Jathan Sadowski and Edward Ongweso Jr., Produced by Jereme Brown /// Hello friends and enemies Listen anywhere that fine podcasts are distributed. Subscribe at patreon.com/thismachinekills to get premium episodes every week.
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Episodes
  • Patreon Preview – 386. The FIRE Sector is Under Water

    Patreon Preview – 386. The FIRE Sector is Under Water
    Dec 19 2024
    First we talk about the unholy trinity of Anduril, Palantir, and OpenAI working together to secure major contracts from the Pentagon for networking data systems and training AI models. Then we get into how Blackstone now owns the AI boom with $50 billion invested in data centre infrastructure and another $50 billion in the pipeline. Lastly, we chat about how the mortgage markets in the US, Australia, and elsewhere—the very cornerstone of entire economies and generational wealth—are once again facing systemic risk a lá the 2008 crash, but this time caused by climate catastrophes. ••• Pre-order Jathan’s new book! https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite ••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble ••• We saw a demo of the new AI system powering Anduril’s vision for war https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/10/1108354/we-saw-a-demo-of-the-new-ai-system-powering-andurils-vision-for-war/ ••• Mind the Gap: Foundation Models and the Covert Proliferation of Military Intelligence, Surveillance, and Targeting https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.14831 ••• Blackstone’s Data-Center Ambitions School a City on AI Power Strains https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-12-08/georgia-s-blackstone-backed-qts-data-center-hits-resistance-over-ai-power-needs ••• The Climate Risk to the Mortgage System https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/business/economy/mortgages-climate-risk-fannie-freddie.html ••• Surging insurance costs are driving thousands of borrowers to breach their mortgage contracts https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-10/insurance-costs-are-driving-thousands-to-breach-their-mortgages/104703586 ••• How climate risks are driving up insurance premiums around the US – visualized https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/05/climate-crisis-insurance-premiums Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)
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    6 mins
  • 385. BlackRock Bought a Zoo

    385. BlackRock Bought a Zoo
    Dec 15 2024
    We’ve got a great reading series that redirects our attention to another big bugbear of TMK: the destruction – and salvation – of nature via asset markets and risk management. We talk about how the business world is coming around to the idea that is nature is *not* a “a free, infinitely extractable resource” and might actually be a valuable asset worth safeguarding—but only if it has clear and direct links to immediate profit! This has led to a number of great new innovations like “biodiversity credits,” which will surely create all kinds of great and desirable outcomes. ••• Pre-order Jathan’s new book! https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite ••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble ••• Do businesses need to care about biodiversity? https://www.ft.com/content/8c6dd560-604b-4d2c-8ff6-4e60a8a4726d Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Patreon Preview 384. – Executive Paranoia

    Patreon Preview 384. – Executive Paranoia
    Dec 10 2024
    We tie together a number of things: first, the assassination of UnitedHealth Group’s CEO and the reactions to this event; second, a new startup in the Thiel family that rehabilitates Sauron as a shining beacon of security for the terrified tech elite; and third, the vision put forward by Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, for an army of ethical techno-slaves that are powered by a new vaporware platform called Agentforce. Pre-order Jathan’s new book! https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite ••• Why "we" want insurance executives dead https://www.usermag.co/p/yes-we-want-insurance-executives ••• Fearful of crime, the tech elite transform their homes into military bunkers https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/12/05/tech-ceos-elites-home-security-silicon-valley/ ••• How the Rise of New Digital Workers Will Lead to an Unlimited Age https://time.com/7178872/agents-unlimited-age/ Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)
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    8 mins

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