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Politechs

Politechs

A podcast exploring the inherently political nature of technology

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  • 22 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 1 hr 3 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • S1 · E4
    Aug 4, 2025 · 1 hr 12 min

    Surveillance

    We're joined this week by Dr. Chris Gilliard, Co-Director of the Critical Internet Studies Institute to talk about what generative AI means for surveillance, and how this technology disproportionately harms marginalised groups. Dr. Gilliard is a writer, professor, and speaker whose scholarship examines digital privacy, surveillance, and the intersections of race, class, and technology. His book "Luxury Surveillance" is forthcoming from MIT Press in 2026. Mentioned in this episode: The Critical Internet Studies Institute develops cutting-edge research and educational programs to advance public knowledge of emerging technologies and the paradoxes of innovation. Don't Give Surveillance for Christmas: Chris appears on the Tech Won't Save Us podcast How Companies Learn Your Secrets, by Charles Duhigg [PERMALINK] The TESCREAL bundle: Eugenics and the promise of utopia through artificial general intelligence, by Timnit Gebru and Emile P. Torres [PERMALINK] ChatGPT Should Not Exist, by David Golumbia [PERMALINK] Defining AI, by Ali Alkhatib [PERMALINK] Practico-inertia, by Rob Horning [PERMALINK] We'd love to hear from you if you disagree with something we've said. Please read our rules of engagement for good faith discussions, and then send an email to podcast@politechs.dev or hit us up on socials. To view full show notes, including transcripts, please visit the episode page. Be sure to follow us on BlueSky and Mastodon! Cover art by Anya K. Jordan @anyakjordan.bsky.social Theme music by Xylia Politechs is provided under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoAI licence

  • S1 · E3
    Jul 28, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min

    Narratives and Narrators

    Whilst everyone has an opinion about AI, there are certain top-level narratives driving the hype bubble. We look at the doomer / booster divide (which turns out to be not so divided) and peek behind the curtain to see which corporations and people are pushing these narratives and what they have to gain. Mentioned in this episode: Dystopia Now - TESCREAL Overview with Kath Barbadoro and Alex Ptak Why does this billionaire have 100 kids in 12 countries?, by Arwa Mahdawi [PERMALINK] Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartless - AI AGENTS EMERGENCY DEBATE We'd love to hear from you if you disagree with something we've said. Please read our rules of engagement for good faith discussions, and then send an email to podcast@politechs.dev or hit us up on socials. To view full show notes, including transcripts, please visit the episode page. Be sure to follow us on BlueSky and Mastodon! Cover art by Anya K. Jordan @anyakjordan.bsky.social Theme music by Xylia Politechs is provided under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoAI licence

Showing 21–22 of 22 episodes