System Crash

Trump’s back in office, Elon’s doing “awkward hand gestures,” and the oligarchy 2.0 is right behind them.

This week on System Crash, Paris and Brian welcome special guest Jacob Silverman to dive into the grotesque spectacle of Trump’s second inauguration, why he lined up the nation’s tech titans for the occasion, and where this Silicon oligarchy is headed. Jacob explains all four of Trumpworld’s crypto coins.

Jacob Silverman is the author of the forthcoming book “Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley” and the co-author of “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.”

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Jason Koebler joins the show to chat with Paris and Brian about the looming TikTok ban (that got even less likely after we recorded) and what Mark Zuckerberg is really looking for from the Trump administration. Plus, the new Free the Feeds initiative, John Deere in the FTC’s crosshairs, and more bad AI news.

Mentioned this week:

• Jason Koebler is a cofounder of 404 Media and cohost of the 404 Media Podcast.
• Paris wrote about Mark Zuckerberg’s embrace of the MAGA movement in Disconnect.
• Jason wrote about what Mark Zuckerberg is looking for from Donald Trump.
• Meta told the Brazilian government that its changes only apply to the United States — for now.
• The US Federal Trade Commission is suing John Deere for illegally restricting tractor repairs.
• The British Labour government says AI is going to be “mainlined into UK’s veins.”
• The Biden administration has a new executive order to ease the construction of hyperscale data centers on federal land.

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The new year has arrived, and luckily Mark Zuckerberg has started it by saving free speech! Brian and Paris break down the latest announcements from our benevolent social media overseer, what they signal about the tech oligarchy’s embrace of MAGA, and how they’re crushing any attempts to rein in their power. Plus, how Elon Musk is interfering in politics in Europe, ChatGPT Pro isn’t profitable, and more!

Mentioned this week:

• Mark Zuckerberg is ditching fact checkers and Republican operative Joel Kaplan got a promotion to president of global affairs — the same guy who was stifling action against conservatives breaking rules several years ago.
• OpenAI is losing money on its $200 a month ChatGPT Pro subscription.
• Google sent $100 million to the collective representing Canadian news organizations, in response to government legislation.

Theme music is “Dystopia” by YACHT. Production is by Eric Wickham.

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Every month, Brian Merchant and Paris Marx will be digging into writings, worldviews and future visions of the tech titans shaping our lives, exclusively for Patreon supporters. To give you an idea of what that will sound like, the first bonus episode is free for everyone. To keep getting them, support the show at patreon.com/systemcrashpod.

In this episode, Brian and Paris dig into Sam Altman’s vision for the Intelligence Age he says we’re entering—or will enter if OpenAI gets the funding and data centers and power he wants—and explore what Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz’s Little Tech Agenda tells us about the politics of Silicon Valley as we lurch into the second Trump administration.

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After hearing from a very special guest, Brian and Paris consider: Is the US really about to ban TikTok? If nothing changes come January 19th, it will. We explain why Congress *really* moved to shut down the massive social media app, and what might happen next, now that the Supreme Court is getting involved and Trump's changed his mind. Plus, Elon Musk points his cash cannon at the UK, and Amazon goes on strike. 

Mentioned this week:

• Shoshana Wodinsky explained why the data argument about TikTok makes no sense.
• Jacob Silverman wrote about Jeffrey Yass’ influence on Trump’s TikTok position.
• Reform UK leader Nigel Farage met Elon Musk and says he might donate to the political party.
• Paris wrote about Elon Musk’s growing relationships with the global far right and how this is coming to Canada through Shopify.
• A Senate probe found Amazon knew its high production quotas were increasing worker injuries and ignored safety recommendations aimed at reducing them.
• The UK government is studying new copyright exemptions for generative AI training.
• Google warned the UK in September it would be left behind if it doesn’t build work data centers and change copyright rules.

Theme music is “Dystopia” by YACHT. Production is by Eric Wickham.

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Brian Merchant and Paris Marx are back with the very first guest of System Crash: Molly White! With Molly’s help, we walk through the biggest stories in the crypto world. We explore the resurgence of crypto, how its backers influenced the election and won Trump’s favor, what the crypto industry wants from the incoming administration—and how it plans to wield power. 

Mentioned this week:

• Molly White is the creator of Web3 is going just great and Follow the Crypto.
• Paris wrote about the return of self-driving hype and its relationship to the broader AI bubble.
• Molly was part of a complaint alleging Coinbase violated campaign finance laws.
• Brian wrote about Luigi Mangione and how the rise in violent politically coded acts reflects a growing despair over failing institutions.
• The Hawk Tuah girl launched a memecoin and (unsurprisingly) seems to have done a rug pull.
• OpenAI launched a $200 ChatGPT subscription and claimed to make its Sora video generator public, but many people couldn’t actually access it.
• GM has pulled the plug on its Cruise robotaxi and self-driving division after spending nearly $10 billion on it.

Theme music is “Dystopia” by YACHT. Production is by Eric Wickham.

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Brian Merchant and Paris Marx are back to celebrate ChatGPT’s second birthday while questioning how OpenAI is really doing as it embraces advertising and the rivalry between Sam Altman and Elon Musk continues to escalate.

Mentioned this week:

• Brian has a new report out with the AI Now Institute: AI-Generated Business: AGI and the Rush to Find a Working Business Model,
• Paris co-authored a white paper to make an ambitious case for countries to reclaim their digital sovereignty. On Disconnect, he wrote about why it’s essential in shaky geopolitical times and in light of the return of Trump.
• Business Insider reported on growing tensions inside Microsoft over Copilot's shortcomings.
• The Financial Times reported on OpenAI’s plans to embrace advertising.
• Reed Albergotti in Semafor reports a new lawsuit from employees accuses Apple of spying on them via their personal iCloud accounts and non-work devices.
• NYT reported Google had concerns about potential human rights violations connected to Project Nimbus, while The Intercept reported the contract is subject to an “adjusted” terms of service.
• The Financial Times says Zuckerberg seeks an “active role” in tech policy with the administration.
• NPR reported on jailbots in Georgia being used to track prison inmates.

Theme music is “Dystopia” by YACHT. Production is by Eric Wickham.

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The system is crashing, and we’re here to guide you through the wreckage. In the inaugural episode of System Crash, Brian Merchant and Paris Marx dig into how the alliance of Donald Trump and Elon Musk—along with his Silicon Valley cohort—is poised to transform both our politics and the tech world. Plus, how generative AI is trained on thousands of Hollywood scripts and why Bluesky gives us (a least a little) hope.

Mentioned this week:

• Sam Biddle on how Trump is a win for tech’s “warrior class” in the Intercept.
• The Financial Times wrote about advertisers heading back to Twitter/X to gain the favor of Trump and Musk. (See also: Paris’s newsletter on Musk and advertising.)
• Alex Risner wrote about generative AI being trained on Hollywood scripts for the Atlantic.
• The Hollywood Reporter on the #Xodus. (See also: Brian’s newsletter on why Bluesky is succeeding because it’s everything big tech’s not)

Theme music is “Dystopia” by YACHT. Production is by Eric Wickham.

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The system, clearly, has crashed — and we’re here to help you dig through the wreckage. System Crash is a weekly tech news show willing to tell the hard truths about how tech — and the titans who own and operate it — is really transforming the world, hosted by Paris Marx and Brian Merchant. Tune in Friday for the first episode.

Theme music is “Dystopia” by YACHT.

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