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.
Data Centers Are a Climate Enemy w/ Ketan Joshi
Paris Marx is joined by Ketan Joshi to discuss how hyperscale data centers are fueling the consumption of more oil and gas, what that means for climate targets, and the insidious relationship between the tech and fossil fuel industries.
Ketan Joshi is a climate writer and data analyst based in Oslo working with climate and environmental groups.
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:
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Ketan has a page on his website sharing fascinating data sets.
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The International Energy Agency World Energy Outlook report was just released for this year.
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xAI was caught using enough illegal methane generators to power a city at a facility that powers Grok.
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Here is an in-depth look behind the scenes at the construction of the new data center from xAI, including the purchasing of a power plant just across the state line.
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Google's Chief of Investment loves Doug Burgum’s (Trump’s Secretary of the Interior) commitments to power AI growth with fossil fuels.
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Microsoft has been investing in nuclear energy.
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Learn more about the Enabled Emissions Campaign.
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Shout-out to the book Empire of AI by Karen Hao.