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.
Silicon Valley is Embracing Anti-China Nationalism w/ JS Tan
Paris Marx is joined by JS Tan to discuss the internet’s connection with neoliberalism, China’s protectionist measures to develop its own tech industry, and how the new tensions between the United States and China are leading Silicon Valley to embrace nationalism.
JS Tan is a former tech worker and writer. He is an editor at Lausan and started Collective Actions in Tech. He recently wrote articles about the tech angle on the Cold War for Foreign Policy and Trump’s attempted TikTok ban for Jacobin. Follow JS on Twitter as @organizejs.
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.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network and follow it on Twitter as @harbingertweets. You can also find Kino Lefter on Twitter.
Also mentioned in this episode:
- The solidarity between tech workers in the United States and China
- Key insights into tech worker activism from the Collective Actions in Tech database
- Mark Zuckerberg’s speech at Georgetown University
- Peter Thiel’s tech nationalism op-ed in the New York Times
- Eric Schmidt’s tech nationalism op-ed in the New York Times