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.
The New Military Industry Complex w/ Sam Biddle
Paris Marx is joined by Sam Biddle to discuss how Silicon Valley is shamelessly courting government military contracts, using tactics to silence employee dissent and normalize the situation to the public, and what it all means for the future of military geopolitics.
Sam Biddle is a senior technology reporter at The Intercept.
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. Support the show on Patreon.
The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.
Also mentioned in this episode:
- Sam wrote about how defense tech companies sought to capitalize on Trump’s return to office and OpenAI’s embrace of nationalism.
- Trae Stephens was interviewed by Wired last year, where he made his comments about the military industrial complex.
- Meta and Anduril teamed up to provide VR and AR devices to the US military.
- Trump’s US Army appointee won’t give up his Anduril stock.
- Palantir’s CEO wrote the Defense Reformation report and Andreessen Horowitz launched an American Dynamism division.