Jacobin Radio

In this episode, Suzi talks to Meredith Whittaker, who worked at Google for a decade and now directs NYU's Artificial Intelligence Institute, where she focuses on the social implications of artificial intelligence and the tech industry responsible for it. Her recent Nation article, co-authored with Nantina Vgontzas, puts forward a militant progressive vision for tech, insisting that the left must vie for control over the algorithms, data and infrastructure that shape our lives. This is all the more urgent in light of the January 6 assault on the Capitol. We get Meredith’s explanation of the way platform business models like Facebook and YouTube drive right-wing conspiracy theories and right-wing organizing. She also looks at the way big tech exploits its workers, something we explored recently with Veena Dubal looking at the implication of the passage of Prop 22. We are fortunate to have Meredith help us understand the challenges as well as suggest the way to wrest control from big tech.Suzi then talks to Mos