Jacobin Radio w/ Suzi Weissman: Meredith Whittaker and Ilya Budraitskis

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 Moscow writer, podcaster and political activist Ilya Budraitskis, about the massive anti-government protests that have rocked cities and towns across Russia following the arrest, detention, and now imprisonment of prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny -- who returned to Russia on January 17 after narrowly surviving being poisoned from exposure to military-grade Novichok on August 20. The protestors were met with vicious police brutality, and 10,000 were arrested. Ilya Budraitskis stands with the protestors -- and we get his views of the movement itself, his analysis of the Putin regime, and a closer look at what Navalny represents.