iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

@parismarx.com, host of Tech Won't Save Us, lays out a vision for an alternative model of technology that serves the people, rather than the billionaire class, and how we have a unique opportunity to not only reject US tech, but to build something better in its place. politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 15 - Alternatives - Paris Marx

Josh and Ray talk to Paris Marx about how to build alternatives to the Silicon Valley model of computing

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

In the penultimate episode of the season, Josh and Ray finally answer the question of whether any of this hellish AI technology can be redeemed. In other words, is heavenly AI possible? politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 14 - HEAVENLY AI

Josh and Ray reflect on the season and ask if HEAVENLY AI is possible.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Great reference! And I should say we were lucky to have you on twice, Anna! You're welcome back anytime. 😊

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Friend of the show Dr. Chris Gilliard @hypervisible.blacksky.app returns to help us wrestle with the question of whether any of this "AI" technology can be redeemed. politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 13 - Redemption? - Dr. Chris Gilliard

Dr. Chris Gilliard is back to help us answer the question of redemption.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

We're joined this week by @danmcquillan.bsky.social to talk decomputing, dehumanisation, dealignment, and some things that don't start with de- as well! politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 12 - Decomputing - Dan McQuillan

Josh and Ray talk decomputing with Dr. Dan McQuillan.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Libraries are amazing, and library workers are a big part of that!

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

We're joined by @emilymbender.bsky.social to understand what the project of "AI" actually is, and why understanding that is hard by design. Dr. Bender invites us to view LLMs as synthetic text extruding machines and then reject synthetic text altogether. politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 11 - Rhetorical Technology - Emily M. Bender

Dr. Emily M. Bender talks about why language matters.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

It was a fantastic conversation! Very empowering and inspiring.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Library Freedom Project founder @flexlibris.bsky.social and member @kslater.bsky.social dispel the myth that now that we have chatbots, we don't need libraries, explain the central role library workers have in resisting AI, and tell us how we all can support libraries. politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 10 - Libraries - Alison Macrina and Kay Slater

Josh and Ray talk to Alison Macrina and Kay Slater about how AI is affecting libraries.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

It was great to have you! 💥

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

In our latest episode, 5th grade teacher Nate Madson Dion schools us on how technology has crept into primary schools, how the inevitability narrative manifests with teachers and administrators, and how he has found effective ways to resist: politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 9 - Educators - Nate Madson Dion

Josh and Ray talk to 5th grade teacher Nate Madson Dion about AI in primary schools.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Software engineer and reluctant activist Radhika talks about epistemic violence, identity, immutability, the Enlightenment, common law, and many other things besides to illustrate just one of the ways in which trans people's lives are under attack. politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 8 - Trans Rights - Radhika

Josh and Ray discuss the impacts of AI on trans people with Radhika.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0u3w...

open.spotify.com

Empire - Karen Hao

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

The paperback edition of "Empire of AI" has just been released in the US and UK, so if you live in either of those places and haven't read the book yet, be sure to pick it up! UK: www.penguin.co.uk/books/460331... US: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743569...

penguin.co.uk

Empire of AI

When longtime AI expert and journalist Karen Hao first began covering OpenAI in 2019, she thought they were the good guys. Founded as a nonprofit with safety enshrined as its core mission, it was mean...

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

@karenhao.bsky.social joins us to discuss her book, "Empire of AI". She explains why the Silicon Valley hyper-scaled LLM flavour of AI is an imperial technology, and has become even more so in the past year as it's increasingly incorporated in the US military's wars. politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 7 - Empire - Karen Hao

Josh and Ray learn about AI as an imperial technology from Karen Hao

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/2BEx...

open.spotify.com

Democracy - Anna Colom

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

We welcome our favourite political scientist, Dr. Anna Colom ( @annacolom.eurosky.social ), back on the show to dive into democracy: what is it really, how does AI threaten it, and how can it be built for real? politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 6 - Democracy - Anna Colom

Josh and Ray talk democracy with Dr. Anna Colom.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

In our latest episode, we sit down with noted fugitive decolonial Luddite scholar Dr. Syed Mustafa Ali to discuss how we can engage with sci-fi not to occlude the real harms of AI, but to throw them into stark relief. And then we talk about Dune! politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 5 - Sci-fi - Syed Mustafa Ali

Noted fugitive decolonial Luddite scholar Dr. Syed Mustafa Ali explores the Butlerian Jihad, both in the Duniverse and our universe.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Foz Meadows joins us to discuss his "Against AI" polemic, the sheer stupidity of thinking we can outsource the act of thinking to machines that do not think, and the role that science fiction and fantasy writers have to play in resisting the inevitability narrative: politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 4 - Writers - Foz Meadows

Josh and Ray talk to science fiction and fantasy writer Foz Meadows.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Datacentres might seem boring, but Aurora Gómez Delgado of Tu Nube Seca Mi Río explains how they are stealing water and energy, and what that means for growing crops, people trying to pay their electricity bills, and the availability of clean drinking water. politechs.dev/episodes/s02...

politechs.dev

Politechs Episode 3 - Datacentres - Aurora Gómez Delgado

Josh and Ray discuss datacentres in the age of AI with Aurora Gómez Delgado.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Automation of targeting decisions for the express purpose of making them faster... what could go wrong? "Computer says kill" is the ultimate accountability sink.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Um. This is really saying the quiet part out loud. 😱

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Yeah, these are exactly the things we've been thinking through over the past couple of years. I hope you'll find the discussions this season interesting, and I appreciate the dialogue. One of our goals is to get nuanced, difficult, good faith conversations going.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

The open training data is a hard requirement for me (as you know from our conversation about my Quixotic search for a STT model 😅). I think open weights are a good idea, but they wouldn't be a requirement for me personally *using* a model in a low-stakes environment.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

We're gonna discuss it for sure!

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Is the bet on whether we discuss it, or whether we come to the same conclusion as you? 😅 Do you have anything you can point at that expands on what you're advocating for? It would be really useful for thinking through the pros and cons of small models.

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Politechs @politechs.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

By the way, Dr. Bender, we would absolutely love to have you and/or Alex on the podcast to discuss how your framing of LLMs and "AI" has been evolving from the Stochastic Parrot onwards.

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