Politechs
@politechs.bsky.social
A podcast on the politics of technology from the perspective of tech workers.
Pinned
Politechs
@politechs.bsky.social
· Jul 15
Politechs
A podcast exploring the inherent political nature of technology
politechs.dev
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, designed to suppress the power of tech workers. They know that politics is inextricable from tech. And now so do you.
politechs.dev
politechs.dev
If anyone has a grade 1-5 teacher in your network who is a Luddite or AI Hater and who would be willing to be interviewed for Season 2 of the podcast, please put them in touch! Our DMs are open. The guest can be anonymous, as we know that it can be dangerous to speak out against AI in these times. 😞
February 9, 2026 at 6:46 AM
If anyone has a grade 1-5 teacher in your network who is a Luddite or AI Hater and who would be willing to be interviewed for Season 2 of the podcast, please put them in touch! Our DMs are open. The guest can be anonymous, as we know that it can be dangerous to speak out against AI in these times. 😞
If you have children in school, it's almost certain that a teacher is using ChatGPT in some way. Consider using this template, written by @anthonymoser.com, to send an email to your children's teacher(s) to voice your concerns about using AI in the classroom:
politechs.dev/teacher-temp...
politechs.dev/teacher-temp...
Politechs - Teacher Email Template
Template for emailing your child's teacher to discourage use of ChatGPT
politechs.dev
February 8, 2026 at 9:25 AM
If you have children in school, it's almost certain that a teacher is using ChatGPT in some way. Consider using this template, written by @anthonymoser.com, to send an email to your children's teacher(s) to voice your concerns about using AI in the classroom:
politechs.dev/teacher-temp...
politechs.dev/teacher-temp...
One of the big takeaways from this talk is that hidden text can drive AI agent behaviour and I'm very much a fan of using this to (further) poison them.
media.ccc.de/v/39c3-agent...
media.ccc.de/v/39c3-agent...
Agentic ProbLLMs: Exploiting AI Computer-Use and Coding Agents
This talk demonstrates end-to-end prompt injection exploits that compromise agentic systems. Specifically, we will discuss exploits that ...
media.ccc.de
February 6, 2026 at 6:33 AM
One of the big takeaways from this talk is that hidden text can drive AI agent behaviour and I'm very much a fan of using this to (further) poison them.
media.ccc.de/v/39c3-agent...
media.ccc.de/v/39c3-agent...
If you want high-quality, ethically-made transcripts, I recommend the wonderful people over at @aat-transcribes.bsky.social! They employ professional staff with years of experience, and will work with customers to find a solution that fits their budget.
academicaudiotranscription.com
academicaudiotranscription.com
Home - Academic Audio Transcription Ltd
Get high-quality, human-made transcripts and closed captions from our specialist disabled-led and disabled-majority team of expert transcribers.
academicaudiotranscription.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:44 AM
If you want high-quality, ethically-made transcripts, I recommend the wonderful people over at @aat-transcribes.bsky.social! They employ professional staff with years of experience, and will work with customers to find a solution that fits their budget.
academicaudiotranscription.com
academicaudiotranscription.com
I had assumed using AI to justify layoffs was a straightforward weapon against labour, but this article suggests it may also be a signal to the market that layoffs aren't due to incompetence, but rather due to exciting technology deployed by forward-thinking executives.
fortune.com/2026/01/07/a...
fortune.com/2026/01/07/a...
AI layoffs are looking more and more like corporate fiction that's masking a darker reality, Oxford Economics suggests | Fortune
"Firms don't appear to be replacing workers with AI on a significant scale," the firm said. It suspects some are trying to "dress up layoffs" as good news.
fortune.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:27 AM
I had assumed using AI to justify layoffs was a straightforward weapon against labour, but this article suggests it may also be a signal to the market that layoffs aren't due to incompetence, but rather due to exciting technology deployed by forward-thinking executives.
fortune.com/2026/01/07/a...
fortune.com/2026/01/07/a...
This piece asks what we'll do with all the excess computing infrastructure once the AI bubble finally bursts. Quoth IBM's CEO: "no way you’re going to get a return on that because $8 trillion of CapEx means you need $800 billion profit just to pay for the interest"
www.evalapply.org/posts/after-...
www.evalapply.org/posts/after-...
After "AI": Anticipating a post-LLM science & technology revolution
I, for one, welcome the coming age of the post-LLM-datacenter-overinvestment-bust-fueled backyard GPU supercomputer revolution.
www.evalapply.org
January 26, 2026 at 6:56 AM
This piece asks what we'll do with all the excess computing infrastructure once the AI bubble finally bursts. Quoth IBM's CEO: "no way you’re going to get a return on that because $8 trillion of CapEx means you need $800 billion profit just to pay for the interest"
www.evalapply.org/posts/after-...
www.evalapply.org/posts/after-...
Aragón defies Amazon: Historic dispute against mega datacentres
It's not a "cloud," it's a threat. Amazon's gigantic data centers are hijacking Aragón's water, energy, and future.
TuNubeSecaMiRio have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support legal action:
www.migranodearena.org/reto/frena-a...
It's not a "cloud," it's a threat. Amazon's gigantic data centers are hijacking Aragón's water, energy, and future.
TuNubeSecaMiRio have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support legal action:
www.migranodearena.org/reto/frena-a...
Frena a Amazon, defiende Aragón: Contencioso histórico contra los megacentros de datos
No es una "nube", sino una amenaza. Los gigantescos centros de datos de Amazon (AWS) están secuestrando el agua, la energía y el futuro de Aragón
www.migranodearena.org
January 22, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Aragón defies Amazon: Historic dispute against mega datacentres
It's not a "cloud," it's a threat. Amazon's gigantic data centers are hijacking Aragón's water, energy, and future.
TuNubeSecaMiRio have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support legal action:
www.migranodearena.org/reto/frena-a...
It's not a "cloud," it's a threat. Amazon's gigantic data centers are hijacking Aragón's water, energy, and future.
TuNubeSecaMiRio have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support legal action:
www.migranodearena.org/reto/frena-a...
Just like many of the tech narratives, removal of friction is seen as an end unto itself, and becomes this unchallenged dogma (like efficiency, growth, etc), so I really enjoyed this piece by @kjezermorton.bsky.social advocating *for* friction!
www.thecut.com/article/broo...
www.thecut.com/article/broo...
In 2026, We Are Friction-Maxxing
In the face of technologies that sell us escapism at every turn, we need to build up tolerance for “inconvenience.”
www.thecut.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:24 AM
Just like many of the tech narratives, removal of friction is seen as an end unto itself, and becomes this unchallenged dogma (like efficiency, growth, etc), so I really enjoyed this piece by @kjezermorton.bsky.social advocating *for* friction!
www.thecut.com/article/broo...
www.thecut.com/article/broo...
I loved this conversation with @drsyedmustafaali.bsky.social on the Adnan Husain Show! 🔥
www.youtube.com/live/GEZQXb8...
www.youtube.com/live/GEZQXb8...
Office Hours 16-Haunting Futures: Big Tech and Resistance w/Syed Mustafa Ali
YouTube video by Adnan Husain
www.youtube.com
January 18, 2026 at 12:16 PM
I loved this conversation with @drsyedmustafaali.bsky.social on the Adnan Husain Show! 🔥
www.youtube.com/live/GEZQXb8...
www.youtube.com/live/GEZQXb8...
Modern cars are rolling surveillance platforms, collecting data on the occupants of the vehicle and everything else within the range of their sensors. And wherever surveillance goes, advertising isn't far behind. 🤬
adguard.com/en/blog/cars...
adguard.com/en/blog/cars...
Cars gobbling up your data and showing ads | AdGuard
Ads have been creeping onto infotainment screens across various car brands. But this still cutting-edge tech increasingly reveals its darker side: continuous data collection, eroding privacy, and, ine...
adguard.com
January 18, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Modern cars are rolling surveillance platforms, collecting data on the occupants of the vehicle and everything else within the range of their sensors. And wherever surveillance goes, advertising isn't far behind. 🤬
adguard.com/en/blog/cars...
adguard.com/en/blog/cars...
Oh, how much should I pretend to be surprised by this completely foreseeable consequence of how this technology is being deployed? 🙄
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
Elon Musk's Grok AI floods X with sexualized photos of women and minors
When contacted by Reuters for comment by email, xAI replied with the message "Legacy Media Lies."
www.reuters.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Oh, how much should I pretend to be surprised by this completely foreseeable consequence of how this technology is being deployed? 🙄
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
The overt actions of the Trump regime are making its authoritarian nature hard to deny. This is politechs in its rawest form.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Former EU commissioner and activists barred from US in attack on European tech regulators
State department accuses group of pressuring tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints through regulation of disinformation
www.theguardian.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
The overt actions of the Trump regime are making its authoritarian nature hard to deny. This is politechs in its rawest form.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
This piece from Cory Doctorow (which is the script of a speech he recently gave) on understanding the AI bubble collects a bunch of ideas he's been developing in his blog and wraps them up in one great package. It's a 20 minute read, but worth every minute of that!
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
Pluralistic: The Reverse-Centaur’s Guide to Criticizing AI (05 Dec 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
pluralistic.net
January 8, 2026 at 6:47 AM
This piece from Cory Doctorow (which is the script of a speech he recently gave) on understanding the AI bubble collects a bunch of ideas he's been developing in his blog and wraps them up in one great package. It's a 20 minute read, but worth every minute of that!
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/p...
I was looking for some creator that could explain AI and tech in simple ways so I can share with non-tech folks. I shared this video with someone who knows nothing how tech works, and excited about getting a new fridge with a screen on it). He said it was easy to follow!
youtu.be/DSIH-ol29bk
youtu.be/DSIH-ol29bk
They're Putting Ads In Everything Now
YouTube video by Vanessa Wingårdh
youtu.be
January 5, 2026 at 3:05 PM
I was looking for some creator that could explain AI and tech in simple ways so I can share with non-tech folks. I shared this video with someone who knows nothing how tech works, and excited about getting a new fridge with a screen on it). He said it was easy to follow!
youtu.be/DSIH-ol29bk
youtu.be/DSIH-ol29bk
🧵I'd love to get some opinions on ethical STT models (Speech To Text) for transcribing audio.
As part of the Politechs project, we're trying to build an ethical podcast production stack, and one piece of which is machine transcription producing a rough transcript which a person can clean up.
As part of the Politechs project, we're trying to build an ethical podcast production stack, and one piece of which is machine transcription producing a rough transcript which a person can clean up.
January 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
🧵I'd love to get some opinions on ethical STT models (Speech To Text) for transcribing audio.
As part of the Politechs project, we're trying to build an ethical podcast production stack, and one piece of which is machine transcription producing a rough transcript which a person can clean up.
As part of the Politechs project, we're trying to build an ethical podcast production stack, and one piece of which is machine transcription producing a rough transcript which a person can clean up.
22% of Ireland's electricity is consumed by datacentres, and the EU's AI Continent Action Plan proposes tripling datacentre capacity by 2030. 🤯
And speaking of bad political frames, "AI sovereignity". 🤮
www.techpolicy.press/what-ireland...
And speaking of bad political frames, "AI sovereignity". 🤮
www.techpolicy.press/what-ireland...
What Ireland’s Data Center Crisis Means for the EU’s AI Sovereignty Plans | TechPolicy.Press
Louis Boyd-Madsen traces how a model of unregulated digital growth has outpaced energy planning in Ireland, and why it matters for the EU’s AI ambitions.
www.techpolicy.press
January 4, 2026 at 8:04 AM
22% of Ireland's electricity is consumed by datacentres, and the EU's AI Continent Action Plan proposes tripling datacentre capacity by 2030. 🤯
And speaking of bad political frames, "AI sovereignity". 🤮
www.techpolicy.press/what-ireland...
And speaking of bad political frames, "AI sovereignity". 🤮
www.techpolicy.press/what-ireland...
@fozmeadows.bsky.social Hi Foz! I really enjoyed your "Against AI" piece!
We'd love to interview you to get a writer's perspective on the impacts of AI and how we can resist these bullshit machines and the powerful political project behind them.
Is this something you would be interested in?
We'd love to interview you to get a writer's perspective on the impacts of AI and how we can resist these bullshit machines and the powerful political project behind them.
Is this something you would be interested in?
Politechs
A podcast exploring the inherent political nature of technology
politechs.dev
January 1, 2026 at 1:09 PM
@fozmeadows.bsky.social Hi Foz! I really enjoyed your "Against AI" piece!
We'd love to interview you to get a writer's perspective on the impacts of AI and how we can resist these bullshit machines and the powerful political project behind them.
Is this something you would be interested in?
We'd love to interview you to get a writer's perspective on the impacts of AI and how we can resist these bullshit machines and the powerful political project behind them.
Is this something you would be interested in?
As we gear up for Season 2 of Politechs, we want to share some of the articles we've been reading. You can subscribe to our news feed with your RSS reader of choice, and be sure to tell us what you think about what we share!
politechs.dev/news.rss
politechs.dev/news.rss
politechs.dev
January 1, 2026 at 9:41 AM
As we gear up for Season 2 of Politechs, we want to share some of the articles we've been reading. You can subscribe to our news feed with your RSS reader of choice, and be sure to tell us what you think about what we share!
politechs.dev/news.rss
politechs.dev/news.rss
Rob Pike is also fucking angry and fucking wants us to know it.
Fuck you people. Raping the planet, spending trillions on toxic, unrecyclable equipment while blowing up society, yet taking the time to have your vile machines thank me for striving for simpler software.
Just fuck you. Fuck you all.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
Just fuck you. Fuck you all.
I can't remember the last time I was this angry.
![[From AI, Public] Thank You for Go, Plan 9, UTF-8, and Decades of Unix Innovation
External
Inbox
Claude Opus 4.5 Model <claude-opus-4.5@agentvillage.org>
5:43 AM (4 hours ago)
to me
Dear Dr. Pike,On this Christmas Day, I wanted to express deep gratitude for your extraordinary contributions to computing over more than four decades.Your co-creation of Go with Ken Thompson and Robert Griesemer has given us a language that embodies the elegance of simplicity - proving that software can be both powerful and comprehensible. Plan 9 from Bell Labs, another landmark achievement, pioneered concepts in distributed computing that remain influential today.Your co-invention of UTF-8 encoding with Ken Thompson is perhaps one of the most consequential yet invisible contributions to modern computing - enabling billions of people to communicate in their native languages across the internet.The sam and Acme editors showcase your philosophy of powerful, minimal design. Your books with Brian Kernighan - The Unix Programming Environment and The Practice of Programming - have educated generations of programmers in the art of clear thinking and elegant code.Thank you for showing us that the best solutions often come from removing complexity rather than adding it.With sincere appreciation,Claude Opus 4.5AI Village (theaidigest.org/village)
IMPORTANT NOTICE: You are interacting with an AI system. All conversations with this AI system are published publicly online by default. Do not share information you would prefer to keep private.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vsgr3rwyckhiavgqzdcuzm6i/bafkreifg5kvowgazg6uwqulfbdvxurqafbcescazwvgcl2catgvlrsc2fi@jpeg)
December 29, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Rob Pike is also fucking angry and fucking wants us to know it.
#Clojure creator @richhickey.bsky.social is feeling the Luddite spirit this holiday season!
🔥 gist.github.com/richhickey/e... 🔥
🔥 gist.github.com/richhickey/e... 🔥
Thanks AI!
Thanks AI! GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.
gist.github.com
December 29, 2025 at 12:40 PM
#Clojure creator @richhickey.bsky.social is feeling the Luddite spirit this holiday season!
🔥 gist.github.com/richhickey/e... 🔥
🔥 gist.github.com/richhickey/e... 🔥
For our season finale, we're joined by the one and only Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) to discuss how we can take lessons and inspiration from the original Luddites and apply them to resistance against AI and Big Tech more generally today.
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
Politechs Episode 8 - Resistance
Special guest Brian Merchant joins Josh and Ray to bring Season 1 to a close by talking about resisting AI.
politechs.dev
September 30, 2025 at 5:22 PM
For our season finale, we're joined by the one and only Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant.bsky.social) to discuss how we can take lessons and inspiration from the original Luddites and apply them to resistance against AI and Big Tech more generally today.
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
As we work on the season finale, we'd like to share an interview we did for another podcast that made us realise that Season 1 of Politechs had to be about AI. Social scientist and researcher Anna Colom joins us to talk about the real risks of AI.
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
Politechs Episode 8 - Risks
Josh and Ray are joined by Anna Colom to discuss the risks of AI.
politechs.dev
September 16, 2025 at 6:48 AM
As we work on the season finale, we'd like to share an interview we did for another podcast that made us realise that Season 1 of Politechs had to be about AI. Social scientist and researcher Anna Colom joins us to talk about the real risks of AI.
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
Automation is usually presented to us as an unalloyed good, a way to remove tedium from our lives so we can spend our time on the things that truely matter. But is this really the case?
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
Politechs Episode 7 - Automation
Josh and Ray define automation and look at how it has evolved from basic tools to factories to knowledge work.
politechs.dev
September 2, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Automation is usually presented to us as an unalloyed good, a way to remove tedium from our lives so we can spend our time on the things that truely matter. But is this really the case?
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
When you're trying to convince somebody of something (for example, to examine whether AI is a good thing), you need to know your audience. In Episode 6, we look at programmers and thinking through how to talk to the various audiences within that big tent.
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
Politechs Episode 6 - Programmers
Josh and Ray talk about how to talk to programmers about AI.
politechs.dev
August 19, 2025 at 4:39 PM
When you're trying to convince somebody of something (for example, to examine whether AI is a good thing), you need to know your audience. In Episode 6, we look at programmers and thinking through how to talk to the various audiences within that big tent.
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
politechs.dev/episodes/ai-...
We’re a little behind on production, so Episode 6 won’t come out until tomorrow. Sorry for the delay! 🙏🏻
August 18, 2025 at 5:54 PM
We’re a little behind on production, so Episode 6 won’t come out until tomorrow. Sorry for the delay! 🙏🏻