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.
Thinking about Tech in the Present Tense w/ Ben Tarnoff
Paris Marx is joined by Ben Tarnoff to discuss why we should look to the Luddites for inspiration, how history could inform a better future of technology, and what tech organizing might look like under a Joe Biden administration.
Ben Tarnoff is a co-founder of Logic Magazine and co-authored “Voices from the Valley: Tech Workers Talk About What They Do–and How They Do It” with Moira Weigel. The book will be released in October and can be preordered now. Follow Ben on Twitter as @bentarnoff.
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.
Mentioned in this episode:
- “To decarbonize we must decomputerize: why we need a Luddite revolution” by Ben Tarnoff
- “From Manchester to Barcelona” by Ben Tarnoff
- “The Making of the Tech Worker Movement” by Ben Tarnoff
- “The Making of the English Working Class” by E.P. Thompson
- “The Machine Breakers” by Eric Hobsbawm
- “Present Tense Technology” by David Noble
Support the show (https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus)