Brian Merchant
@bcmerchant.bsky.social
author of Blood in the Machine, tech writer, luddite
newsletter: https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/
books: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/brian-merchant/
kofi link: https://ko-fi.com/brianmerchant
newsletter: https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/
books: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/brian-merchant/
kofi link: https://ko-fi.com/brianmerchant
No idea — but then it would just be a VPN?
February 19, 2026 at 12:57 AM
No idea — but then it would just be a VPN?
Linebaugh is excellent — and cited multiple times in the book! — but also I am deeply offended @danieldenvir.bsky.social has not asked me on to talk about BLOOD and today's luddites
February 19, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Linebaugh is excellent — and cited multiple times in the book! — but also I am deeply offended @danieldenvir.bsky.social has not asked me on to talk about BLOOD and today's luddites
I would agree personally!!
February 18, 2026 at 7:24 PM
I would agree personally!!
I would also add and clarify that this absolutely includes refusing AI outright!
February 18, 2026 at 7:24 PM
I would also add and clarify that this absolutely includes refusing AI outright!
“They’re robbing us!”
“Wage theft!”
“Wage theft!”
February 18, 2026 at 7:15 PM
“They’re robbing us!”
“Wage theft!”
“Wage theft!”
5. Uncertainty reigns, and the future is anything but predetermined. This allows for a vacuum that’s often filled by the loudest and most moneyed voices.
But no one knows the future, and we certainly don’t need AI CEOs to tell us what it should be. What AI ultimately looks like is up to us.
But no one knows the future, and we certainly don’t need AI CEOs to tell us what it should be. What AI ultimately looks like is up to us.
February 18, 2026 at 6:59 PM
5. Uncertainty reigns, and the future is anything but predetermined. This allows for a vacuum that’s often filled by the loudest and most moneyed voices.
But no one knows the future, and we certainly don’t need AI CEOs to tell us what it should be. What AI ultimately looks like is up to us.
But no one knows the future, and we certainly don’t need AI CEOs to tell us what it should be. What AI ultimately looks like is up to us.
4. Both the hype and the straw manning of critics does not mean there is not a real market for these automation tools and chatbot products, and that corporations aren’t keen to exploit them (and their users).
February 18, 2026 at 6:43 PM
4. Both the hype and the straw manning of critics does not mean there is not a real market for these automation tools and chatbot products, and that corporations aren’t keen to exploit them (and their users).
3. Much of the discourse centered on lambasting critics who accuse AI of being “fake”—but this is a straw man argument that serves the industry.
Complaints that the “left” is wrong to dismiss AI similarly miss the entire context and point of its opposition.
Complaints that the “left” is wrong to dismiss AI similarly miss the entire context and point of its opposition.
February 18, 2026 at 6:42 PM
3. Much of the discourse centered on lambasting critics who accuse AI of being “fake”—but this is a straw man argument that serves the industry.
Complaints that the “left” is wrong to dismiss AI similarly miss the entire context and point of its opposition.
Complaints that the “left” is wrong to dismiss AI similarly miss the entire context and point of its opposition.
2. This time the hype must transcend multibillion dollar investment deals: It must also raise the stock of AI companies ahead of scheduled IPOs later this year and help lay the groundwork for federal funding and/or bailout backing.
February 18, 2026 at 6:40 PM
2. This time the hype must transcend multibillion dollar investment deals: It must also raise the stock of AI companies ahead of scheduled IPOs later this year and help lay the groundwork for federal funding and/or bailout backing.
1. There is a distinct material basis for all this AI discourse. We’re in the midst of another concerted, industry-led hype cycle, this time driven more visibly by Anthropic, which just landed a $30 billion investment round.
February 18, 2026 at 6:40 PM
1. There is a distinct material basis for all this AI discourse. We’re in the midst of another concerted, industry-led hype cycle, this time driven more visibly by Anthropic, which just landed a $30 billion investment round.
No offense to JP but that emoji grouping was intended for you! Thanks for the shout, glad it's proving useful
February 13, 2026 at 6:21 AM
No offense to JP but that emoji grouping was intended for you! Thanks for the shout, glad it's proving useful
Well thank you so much, sounds like I owe you a Luddite sized pint or two
February 13, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Well thank you so much, sounds like I owe you a Luddite sized pint or two