Technological Doom Is Already Here w/Conor McGlynn

In this episode of The Future is Human, I'm joined by Conor McGlynn — a writer and PhD researcher at Harvard's Program on Science, Technology, and Society — to discuss his Compact essay "AI and the Myth of the Machine." Drawing on the 20th-century technology critic Lewis Mumford, we talk about techno-optimism as a kind of secular faith, what the Amish and Orthodox Jewish communities understand about adopting technology on their own terms, why the data-center boom feels so undemocratic, and why technological "doom" is not a future event but something already unfolding around us.

Links and references:

• Conor McGlynn's Compact essay, "AI and the Myth of the Machine": https://www.compactmag.com/article/ai-and-the-myth-of-the-machine/
• More of Conor's writing at Compact Magazine:
• https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-emerging-ai-policy-consensus/
• https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-ai-backlash-turns-violent/
• https://www.compactmag.com/article/big-techs-war-on-democracy/
• The China Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcukTqc1cJJ4K3c4uzxTzjA
• Got feedback? Email Zac at [email protected]