This Machine Kills

We jump off from the OpenAI - Hugging Face hacking incident as a way to talk about the misleading, cynical, and hysterical ways we talk about AI and the stranglehold that existential risk has on our framings and discourses. The OAI-HF event shows that rather than treating machine learning as certain kind of technology that does things in ways that can be explained and contextualized, even when our understanding is somewhat murky or incomplete, AI is proffered as an emergent god with mystified intentions, a great becoming that is equally horrifying and awe-inspiring.

••• LLMs are real, AI is fake https://pluralistic.net/2026/09/12/god-in-the-box/
••• We Must Pace the Frontier https://darioamodei.com/post/we-must-pace-the-frontier

Standing Plugs:
••• Order Jathan’s book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite
••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble
••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

We bring together two different stories about the tech sector and speculative real estate booms. First, how Netflix promises to turn the Jersey Shore into “Hollywood East”. Second, how the data centre bonanza is stretching Wall Street beyond its limits.

••• Can Netflix remake Jersey Shore — and its property market? https://www.ft.com/content/abbc3601-9ebc-4f3a-a317-0b1eee96e5a8
••• The multiplying risks of financing data centres https://www.ft.com/content/9cb63980-cd43-419d-a7e5-42039b9fd01e

Standing Plugs:
••• Order Jathan’s book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite
••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble
••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

[We had technical difficulties and had to use a backup recording, sorry!] We chat with JS Tan and Clarissa Redwin — both veteran tech workers and labor organizers — about their new book which chronicles the tech worker movement over the last ten years. JS and Clarissa have been deeply involved in this movement, which gives them the perfect vantage point to trace the catalyzing events and organizing efforts, as well as discuss what went right, what went wrong, and how the tactics for class consciousness and worker resistance must be adapted for the tech sector.

••• Against Tech Oligarch | Book and Tour Dates https://againsttecholigarchy.com/

Standing Plugs:
••• Order Jathan’s book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite
••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble
••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

We turn our sights down under by taking a closer look at the new all-of-government strategy for AI in Australia’s Interests. Australia has plotted out a bold, progressive vision where AI enthusiasm is mandatory, no is not an option (and. in fact, the lack of choice is actually empowering), and the country, with all its open space and valuable resources, is the next great investment opportunity for foreign capital. But don’t worry, just like mining companies before, tech firms are expected to earn their social license to operate. What does that mean in practice? Just leave the details to the devil.

••• AI in Australia's interests https://www.pm.gov.au/media/ai-australias-interests-0
••• NSW government offers fast-track scheme for data centres that comply with new guidelines https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-17/data-centres-fast-tracked-under-new-nsw-scheme/107043984

Standing Plugs:
••• Order Jathan’s book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite
••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble
••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)

We take a deep dive into New York’s police-surveillance infrastructure, a sprawling leviathan that Mayor Zohran Mamdani was outspoken against during his campaign, but has now inherited and is even warming up to as his administration settles into power.

••• Mamdani’s Surveillance State https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/mamdani-surveillance-state.html
••• Walking the Thin Blue Line https://www.thedriftmag.com/walking-the-thin-blue-line/
••• The New York City Police Department’s Domain Awareness System (pdf) https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/Levine%20-%20Interfaces%20-%20The%20New%20York%20City%20Police%20Department%E2%80%99s%20Domain.pdf

Standing Plugs:
••• Order Jathan’s book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite
••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble
••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)