455. The Anti-Anti-Anti-Data-Centers Social Club
From This Machine Kills by This Machine Kills
April 29, 2026 · 1h 30m
About this episode
The episode critiques leftist arguments against data center moratoriums, highlighting the complexities of technology governance and corporate influence.
We deconstruct the confused arguments – from the left – against moratoriums for data centres. These positions set up a false dichotomy between either pausing or governing technology, they start from the assumption that a politics of refusal or opposition is an illegitimate position to hold, and they depend on rhetorical leaps and pretzel logic to make arguments that end up ceding more ground to corporate power than they gain for leftist goals. ••• Democratic Governance of AI Is the Real Solution https://jacobin.com/2026/04/ai-data-center-moratorium-democracy ••• What Will It Take to Get A.I. Out of Schools? https://www.newyorker.com/culture/progress-report/what-will-it-take-to-get-ai-out-of-schools Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite ••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble ••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)
People in this episode
Hosts: Jathan Sadowski, Edward Ongweso Jr.
Topics covered
- data centers
- technology governance
- leftist politics
- corporate power
- AI in education
Keywords
- data centers
- moratoriums
- corporate power
- leftist politics
- AI governance
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Jacobin, The New Yorker, TMK
Products: The Mechanic and the Luddite
More episodes of This Machine Kills
- 461. The Book of Ludd · June 12, 2026 · 1h 19m
- Patreon Preview – 460. Mr. Worldspirit · June 5, 2026 · 6 min
- 459. One Border After Another (ft. Gaby Del Valle) · May 29, 2026 · 1h 13m
- Patreon Preview – 458. Seduced by the Slop Tsunami · May 20, 2026 · 5 min
- 457. DC3: The Terraforming · May 13, 2026 · 1h 25m
- Patreon Preview – 456. Do Not Question Project Cannoli · May 8, 2026 · 7 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the This Machine Kills podcast page.