Silicon Valley has a solution for everything, but who do its ideas really serve? Every Thursday, Paris Marx is joined by a new guest to critically examine the tech industry, its thought leaders, and the worldview it spreads. They challenge 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. But if tech won't save us, what will? This podcast isn't simply about tearing tech down; it also presents radical ideas for tech designed for human flourishing instead of surveillance, acquisitions, or to boost stock prices. A better world is possible, and so is better technology.
How Israel Uses Occupation to Develop Military Tech w/ Antony Loewenstein
Paris Marx is joined by Antony Loewenstein to discuss how the Israeli weapons industry tests new military technologies on occupied Palestinians before selling them internationally.
Antony Loewenstein is an independent journalist who’s written for the New York Times and the Guardian. He’s the author of The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports The Technology Of Occupation Around The World. Follow Antony on Twitter at @antloewenstein.
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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.
Also mentioned in this episode:
- Excerpts from Antony’s book have been published by In These Times, Declassified Australia, and Jamal Khashoggi-founded Democracy for the Arab World Now. Antony also wrote a good overview of the book for Middle East Eye.
- Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and Yesh Din have called Israel’s actions apartheid.
- Google and Amazon workers protested Project Nimbus. They also faced shareholder revolts over the project.
- Airbnb lists properties in illegal Israeli settlements.
- Red Wolf is deployed at checkpoints to scan Palestinians’ faces and add them to surveillance databases without their consent.
- Facebook has been criticized for removing Palestinians’ posts.
- The New York Times reported on Israel’s use of NSO Group surveillance tools for diplomatic leverage.
- The Committee to Protect Journalists found Israel killed 20 journalists.