Politechs – Details, episodes & analysis

Since the invention of the wheel, automation has both substituted and complemented labour; machines replaced humans at some lower-paying jobs, but this was compensated by the creation of new, higher-paying jobs; in other words: tech workers. In recent years, there has been a desire from certain high-profile tech companies for an "apolitical workplace". This in itself is a political act; an act designed to suppress the power of tech workers and reinforce the status quo. They know that politics is inextricable from tech. And now so do you. Welcome to Politechs.

In Season 1 of Politechs, it's time to talk about AI: what it is, what it can and can't do, what makes it dangerous, and why we as tech workers must not buy into the inevitability narrative; why we must resist, and how we can resist.

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 hit us up on socials or send an email to politechs@politechs.dev.

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 Ptzery

Politechs is provided under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoAI licence

AI is everywhere these days, and the problem with it is not what people think. It's not Skynet we should fear; it's the actually existing harms that are being done to the environment, workers around the world, and the human mind itself. Join Josh and Ray for the inaugural episode of the inaugural season of Politechs as they lay down a Luddite argument against AI from the perspective of software engineers and talk about how to have good faith discussions with people who might not see or be willing to acknowledge the dangers of the technologies under the AI umbrella.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Politechs Rules of Engagement for good-faith discussions
• Tech Won't Save Us - critical tech podcast
• This Machine Kills - critical tech podcast
• The Tech Bubble - critical tech newsletter from Ed Ongweso Jr.
• Blood in the Machine - critical tech newsletter from Brian Merchant

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 hit us up on socials or send an email to politechs@politechs.dev.

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 Ptzery

Politechs is provided under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoAI licence