Tech Won't Save Us29 Sep 2022

Why Google’s Toronto Smart City Failed w/ Josh O'Kane

Paris Marx is joined by Josh O’Kane to discuss how Sidewalk Labs decided to build a city “from the internet up” in Toronto, the concerns that existed with the project, and why it ultimately fell apart.Josh O’Kane is an award-winning technology reporter at the Globe and Mail and the author of Sideways: The City Google Couldn't Buy. Follow Josh on Twitter at @joshokane.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.Also mentioned in this episode: An excerpt of Josh’s book was published in the Globe and Mail. Josh wrote about how Canada’s Liberal government under Justin Trudeau isn’t as friendly with tech companies as it was earlier in its time in power. Around the time of Sidewalk Toronto, opponents were able to defeat Amazon’s HQ2 project in New York, Google’s Berlin startup hub, Apple’s planned central Stockholm store, and its planned store in Melbourne’s Fed Square. Bianca Wylie was one of the prominent critics of the project, and was called the “Jane Jacobs of the smart city.” In 2019, documents leaked showing Sidewalk Labs wanted a lot more power and access to more land than was agreed upon, and that further fueled opposition. In May 2020, Wylie wrote about the cancelation of the project and the lessons that should be learned. Support the show

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Episoder(344)

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Paris Marx is joined by Spencer Ackerman to discuss the past year of Israel's actions in Palestine and the innovations in war technology being used to carry out what the ICJ has deemed a "plausible" g...

10 Okt 202455min

Data Vampires: Going Hyperscale (Episode 1)

Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are the dominant players in the cloud market. Around the world, they’re building massive hyperscale data centers that they claim are necessary to power the future of our ...

7 Okt 202431min

Don’t Fall for Mark Zuckerberg’s Rebrand w/ Karl Bode

Paris Marx is joined by Karl Bode to discuss how Mark Zuckerberg's makeover and the PR campaign that’s accompanied it shouldn’t distract from the ongoing harms of his company.Karl Bode is a freelance ...

3 Okt 202458min

What Happens to Our Digital Footprints When We Die? w/ Tamara Kneese

Paris Marx is joined by Tamara Kneese to discuss the difficult question of what happens to our digital presence after we die and why some tech billionaires are so desperate to make themselves into cha...

26 Sep 202457min

Will Google’s Monopoly Be Broken Up? w/ Rob Larson

Paris Marx is joined by Rob Larson to discuss the recent ruling that Google is a monopolist, what consequences it might face, and what lessons we can learn from the Microsoft antitrust case in the ear...

19 Sep 20241h 3min

Google and Meta Are A Threat to Journalism w/ Matt Pearce

Paris Marx is joined by Matt Pearce to discuss how Google sidestepped two California bills aimed at funding journalism and how major tech companies are transforming the web to make hyperlinks less rel...

12 Sep 20241h 1min

Unionizing the Video Game Industry w/ Taylor Welling & Kathryn Friesen

Paris Marx is joined by Taylor Welling and Kathryn Friesen to discuss how they formed wall-to-wall unions in the video game industry and their thoughts on broader challenges like layoffs and corporate...

5 Sep 202456min