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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski
@jathansadowski.com
7.1K followers 270 following 440 posts
ARC Future Fellow – Monash /// co-host – This Machine Kills /// critical insurance tech + climate risk governance /// political economy of technology and capitalism: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite
www.ucpress.edu
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · Jan 5
Thrilled to announce the official publication of my new book — The Mechanic and the Luddite: A Ruthless Criticism of Technology and Capitalism

Grab my book to go beyond the vaporous hype and get the real material analysis of technological capitalism that we all need! www.ucpress.edu/books/the-me...
Photo of a white man's hand holding a book titled THE MECHANIC AND THE LUDDITE. subtitled A RUTHLESS CRITICISM of TECHNOLOGY and CAPITALISM. author JATHAN SADOWSKI. The cover is a mottled red and orange with an image of a circular toothed gear with a crossed wrench and hammer inside. The title is rockered over the top of the gear and the subtitle is rockered below the gear. Back cover of THE MECHANIC AND THE LUDDITE book. DEMYSTIFIES HOW TWO SYSTEMS — TECHNOLOGY AND CAPITALISM — WORK TOGETHER AND EQUIPS US WITH TOOLS TO BUILD A BETTER WORLD Our society is constantly serving the needs of technology and capitalism. Neither system exists outside humans, but both are treated as above and beyond us. The Mechanic and the Luddite provides the critical tools we need to deconstruct these systems-how they work and what work they do in our lives. But It's not enough to know how the machinery of capitalism and technology operate; we also need to know whom the machines serve in order to decide whether they should be taken apart, rebuilt, or destroyed for good. With signature style, Jathan Sadowski gives readers a provocative and handy manual for understand- ing the power of technology and capitalism and, crucially, the power we must take back. "Jathan Sadowski is one of the most incisive and important thinkers on technology and capitalism today. This urgent book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the deeper political economy that shapes the digital domain and, by extension, every facet of modern life -ASTRA TAYLOR, author of The Age of Security: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart "Smart, urgent, and bluntly powerful, this book is required reading for anyone who seeks to understand how technology gets made — and whom it's made to serve. The time for a thunderous new Luddite politics is now and Sadowski's accessible manifesto delivers" -BRIAN MERCHANT, author of flood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech Sadowski's crisp and active prose generously illuminates technology's relationship to flows of money and power and the whims of those who wield them." MEREDITH WHITTAKER, Chief Advisor and Cofounder, Al Now Institute JATHAN SADOWSKI is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University. He is author of Too Smart and host of the podcast This Machine Kills
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 20h
In the new TMK, I'm joined by @lalehkhalili.bsky.social to discuss her new book, Extractive Capitalism, about the great many foot soldiers, systems and circuits of extraction that are essential to capitalism—from sand smugglers to management consultants, and much more www.patreon.com/posts/141154...
427. Many Worlds of Extraction (ft. Laleh Khalili) | This Machine Kills
Get more from This Machine Kills on Patreon
www.patreon.com
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alicebennett.bsky.social
wendy copium @alicebennett.bsky.social · 23h
one thing LLMs have revealed is that the belief that there is a magical incantation that will give you what you want is not just confined to pick-up artists and freemen on the land
desfitzgerald.bsky.social
Des Fitzgerald @desfitzgerald.bsky.social · 1d
Seeing people nonchalantly post stuff like makes me feel like I'm going crazy honestly.
A post from an academic on blue sky that says: "I'm learning about "prompt engineering" when asking LLMs to extract data. I now add this to all instructions: Style Be concise, analytic, and specific (cite page/figure if provided). If essential info is missing, keep going but flag Unclear and exact data needed. Never invent data. #academicsky"
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 5d
In the new TMK Premium, we trace how the sprawling networks of data capture built to funnel profits through the adtech ecosystem and platform economy are also powering an exterminationist techno-politics carried out by fascist agencies and their corporate collaborators. Oops!
Premium – 426. The Road to Hell is Paved with Advertisements | This Machine Kills
Get more from This Machine Kills on Patreon
www.patreon.com
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 6d
We get a lot of wild publicity pitches for TMK, but this one is among the most pathological. I shudder to think of the people who this pitch – and insane person – would excite, rather than repulse.
Before LegalZoom reached unicorn status, co-founder Eddie Hartman was actually disinvited to his family's Thanksgiving, because he wouldn't stop asking for money to help fund his dream venture. "Me and my two co-founders invested our own money and then started asking friends and family for help," says Eddie. "We quickly wore out our welcome but it was worth it because we knew how to take what we started and grow it while maintaining profit." Eddie, who is co-author of the new book Scaling Innovation: How Smart Companies Architect Profitable Growth (Wiley), a sequel to the international bestseller Monetizing Innovation, is immediately available for interviews and expert commentary to share the following:
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 6d
It’s partly a free public event, but it sold out really fast! There’s way more interest in Luddism than the organizers anticipated. You can go on the waitlist here www.eventbrite.com/e/new-luddis...
New Luddism: Technology and Resistance in the Modern Workplace
Join us at Columbia University for a student-led conference featuring researchers, workers, and organizers.
www.eventbrite.com
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 6d
Looking forward to giving the keynote at this very cool conference in New York City next month along with so many other comrades-in-luddism — New Luddism: Technology and Resistance in the Modern Workplace
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 7d
Call for abstracts: "Insurance, Climate Change, and Spatial Governance" paper session for the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, March 17-21, 2026

I'm co-organizing this session with some amazing scholars. Here's our extended abstract:
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rosiecollington.bsky.social
Rosie Collington @rosiecollington.bsky.social · 7d
At this point I am just a @triofrancos.bsky.social superfan & wanna recommend everything she’s doing but I particularly enjoyed this interview with @jathansadowski.com & @edwardongwesojr.com on all things extraction, stranded renewables assets, China, & much more 🫡
open.spotify.com/episode/4kfb...
425. The Oxymorons of Green Capitalism (ft. Thea Riofrancos)
open.spotify.com
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savannahcox.bsky.social
Savannah Cox @savannahcox.bsky.social · 7d
Climate and insurance folks: please join @jathansadowski.com, Leigh Johnson, Stephen Collier and me for an AAG session on insurance, spatial governance and climate adaptation. CFP below, abstract form here:

forms.gle/wQNrgtRmJETV...
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 7d
Please submit abstracts of no more than 250 words via this form by October 23rd docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Abstract Submission for AAG 2026 Paper Session: Insurance, Climate Change, and Spatial Governance
Call for Papers: Insurance, Climate Change, and Spatial Governance paper session for the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, March 17-21, 2026 Organizers: St...
docs.google.com
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 7d
Call for abstracts: "Insurance, Climate Change, and Spatial Governance" paper session for the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, March 17-21, 2026

I'm co-organizing this session with some amazing scholars. Here's our extended abstract:
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 9d
The AI bubble is gonna tank the economy. The ironic future of AI is to throw us backwards into a great depression. Let’s gooooo www.marketwatch.com/story/the-ai...
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 9d
According to reports by journalists and activists on the flotilla, “Thunberg was “wrapped in the Israeli flag and paraded like a trophy”—a scene described with disbelief and anger by those who witnessed it.”

Israel calls the flotilla “terrorists,” while their rights are “systematically violated”.
Israel accused of detaining Greta Thunberg in infested cell and making her hold flags
Activist tells Swedish officials she has been subjected to harsh treatment, including insufficient food and water
www.theguardian.com
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paultlevin.bsky.social
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 10d
““They dragged little Greta [Thunberg] by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others,” the Turkish activist ErsinÇelik, a participant in the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu news agency.”+
Israel accused of detaining Greta Thunberg in infested cell and making her hold flags
Activist tells Swedish officials she has been subjected to harsh treatment, including insufficient food and water
www.theguardian.com
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 11d
Just discovered there's a whole category of stock photos that are people biting their computers out of frustration.
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hypervisible.blacksky.app
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 12d
OpenAI is essentially a social arsonist, developing and releasing tools that hyper scale the most racist, misogynistic, and toxic elements of society, lowering the barriers for all manner of abuse. The so called guardrails make a pinky swear look like an ironclad contract.
This social app can put your face into fake movie scenes, memes and arrest videos
The new Sora social app from ChatGPT maker OpenAI encourages users to upload video of their face so their likeness can be put into AI-generated clips.
www.washingtonpost.com
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 12d
What an unsurprising decision by corporations that desperately need to make money with AI. If every other company with a chatbot isn't already doing this, then expect them to be following Meta's lead soon. The chatbot is not your friend; it's a corporate listening device. www.ft.com/content/22f7...
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/22f7afc3-8ac0-4ca1-9877-fd3f8ddcc986?desktop=true&segmentId=7c8f09b9-9b61-4fbb-9430-9208a9e233c8#myft:notification:daily-email:content Meta will use conversations people have with its chatbots to personalise advertising and content across its platforms, in a sign of how tech companies plan to make money from artificial intelligence. The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp on Wednesday said it would use the content of chats with its Meta AI to create advertising recommendations across its suite of apps. “People will already expect that their Meta AI interactions are being used for these personalisation purposes,” said Christy Harris, privacy and data policy manager at Meta.
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its.small.patatas.ca
🎃smell🎃patatas🎃 @its.small.patatas.ca · 13d
This discussion is so fuckin good holy shit
jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 14d
In the new TMK, @triofrancos.bsky.social joins us to discuss the about the many frontiers, tensions, and futures of green capitalism. We go deep into the political economy of lithium and the material infrastructures of extraction. Thea is so sharp and this is such a great conversation.
425. The Oxymorons of Green Capitalism (ft. Thea Riofrancos)
We are joined by Thea Riofrancos — author of Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism — to chat about the many frontiers, tensions, and futures of green capitalism. How do we understand a system
soundcloud.com
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 13d
Incredible ruling in a case brought by the AAUP against Rubio and the State Department.

A federal court found that "arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the First Amendment." www.aaup.org/news/court-r...
Court Rules in AAUP v Rubio: Trump Admin Violated First Amendment Home In a landmark ruling, a federal court today ruled that the Trump administration’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the First Amendment. The AAUP, the Middle Eastern Studies Association and several AAUP chapters brought the suit with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, seeking to block the Trump administration from carrying out large-scale arrests, detentions, and deportations of noncitizen students and faculty members for ideological reasons (typically because of pro-Palestinian speech).
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veenadubal.bsky.social
Veena Dubal @veenadubal.bsky.social · 13d
WE WON: "This case -– perhaps the most important ever to fall w/in..this district court squarely presents the issue whether non-citizens lawfully present here in US..have the same free speech rights as the rest of us. The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally “yes, they do.”"
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chicagotrans-plant.bsky.social
Chicago 🏳️‍⚧️🌱 @chicagotrans-plant.bsky.social · 14d
On the way to my girlfriend's on an Amtrak listening to @edwardongwesojr.com and @jathansadowski.com 's podcast while playing hades 2 does life get any better than this?
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 13d
Congrats on living the best day of your life. Condolences that every next day is downhill from here.
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 14d
In the new TMK, @triofrancos.bsky.social joins us to discuss the about the many frontiers, tensions, and futures of green capitalism. We go deep into the political economy of lithium and the material infrastructures of extraction. Thea is so sharp and this is such a great conversation.
425. The Oxymorons of Green Capitalism (ft. Thea Riofrancos)
We are joined by Thea Riofrancos — author of Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism — to chat about the many frontiers, tensions, and futures of green capitalism. How do we understand a system
soundcloud.com
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hannahnicklin.bsky.social
Hannah Nicklin @hannahnicklin.bsky.social · 16d
I’m the subject of this week’s “What’s on Your Bookshelf” column at @rockpapershotgun.bsky.social — they reached out when I was on a week off so got deep-reading me. Revolutions, Egyptian alt fantasy comics, citizen assemblies, Luddism and Stewart Lee abound www.rockpapershotgun.com/whats-on-you...
What's on your bookshelf: Saltsea Chronicles, Mutazione and Thronglets' Hannah Nicklin
Hannah Nicklin tells us about the books they love, have loved, and are hoping to love in the future.
www.rockpapershotgun.com
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jathansadowski.com
Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 15d
It's very cool to see my book recommended in RPS by game narrative designer @hannahnicklin.bsky.social — alongside books by Murray Bookchin and Hilary Mantel — especially since I have RPS opened in a different tab to help me find the witch crest in Silksong www.rockpapershotgun.com/whats-on-you...
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