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Dan McQuillan

@danmcquillan.bsky.social

7.1K followers 360 following 820 posts

https://danmcquillan.org/

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · Nov 6

I wrote 'Resisting AI' (subtitled 'An Anti-fascist approach to Artificial Intelligence') to help preempt the kind of convergence of far right politics and the tech sector that we are waking up to today. The struggle against fascistic solutionism continues. bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/resisting-ai

Resisting AI

Resisting AI - An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence; Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere, yet it causes damage to society in ways that can’t be fixed. Calling for the restructuri...

bristoluniversitypress.co.uk

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 1d

Part 1 of the Italian translation of 'Decomputing as Resistance' is up on Controversie magazine. Huge thanks to editor Gianluca Fuser! 'Decomputing come atto di resistenza' www.controversie.blog/decomputing-... Part 2 is out on Wednesday with an accompanying essay by researcher Natalia Irza.

Decomputing come atto di resistenza - Prima parte - Controversie

Questo stile di pensiero – caratterizzato da scenari di tecnologie fantascientifiche e di autoritarismo – è la risposta di coloro che desiderano mantenere una massiccia asimmetria di potere e ricchezz...

www.controversie.blog

Reposted by Dan McQuillan

Jeff Doctor @jeff.doctor · 2d

I wanna posit this really big and awkward question: What does "Canadian digital sovereignty" mean for Indigenous Peoples here when Canada is not only giving up its pretences for "Reconciliation", but also increasingly hostile to Indigenous Peoples who oppose Canada as a resource extraction colony?

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Reposted by Dan McQuillan

Jeff Doctor @jeff.doctor · 2d

It's as if there's some sort of weird cognitive algorithm in the minds of settlers that Indigenous Peoples = backwards and savage therefore anything tech related doesn't apply to them.

Ummmm, you do realize all this "Canadian digital sovereignty" stuff requires unfettered access to Indigenous land.

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Reposted by Dan McQuillan

Jeff Doctor @jeff.doctor · 2d

I am once again asking Canadian journalists to ask the most basic-ass question of "on whose land will these be built?" How is it that every other major industry must consider Indigenous rights but with tech it's like "meh".
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

ANALYSIS | Why OpenAI wants to help Canada build homegrown artificial intelligence | CBC News

OpenAI wants to help Canada build a sovereign digital infrastructure for artificial intelligence, putting the country in a tough spot as it tries to distance itself from overreliance on U.S. tech comp...

www.cbc.ca

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 2d

What other Nobel prizes would you anticipate, based on the empirical evidence of AI deployment (not on dreams)?

Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

But what about everything beyond alphafold?

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

that's not a done deal, Nobel prizes are influenced by a variety of forces

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

I didn't take it as a personal attack. I'm suggesting it's a negative and unfounded statement that reflects five decades of neoliberal subjectivity.

Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

but aside from alphafold (alpha-old at this stage) what's the evidence for ANY of the other claims of AI pushers? We can certainly see the mounting empirical evidence to the contrary, from the social to the environmental.

Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

alphafold needs a proper debunking IMO

Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

says Deepmind

Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

says Google

Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

What's your evidence that this tech is 'positively game changing'?

Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

You call my statements negative but lead with "everyone's selling something" 🤔. You accept that Hassabis is a salesman but take his statements about dreams and motivations at face value. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

That's a doomer narrative. Just because one snake oil salesman positions themselves as 'more serious' doesn't mean they're not a salesman. Serious people don't claim technology will "cure all disease" or wax lyrical about 'the elimination of scarcity' without mentioning politics and power.

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

I don't see it like that. To me, the negative perspective is the one trying to conceal necropolitics with techno fairy tales. A positive imaginary is absolutely vital, but it needs to be grounded in material conditions and collective power.

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

☝ Partial abstract for my talk at Umeå University's AI Policy Lab Day aipolicylab.se/2025/09/29/a...

aipolicylab.se

Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

"AI is the broken product of an already-broken system which sucks more of everything into its cycle of simulated solutions. By focusing on energy as the conjunction of materiality & hype, decomputing combines degrowth and conviviality into a policy for post-collapse liveability"

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

A great panel, fizzing with militant ideas.
My questions for a Critical AI Centre included:
- Is critical AI a bubble?
- How do you deal with institutional capture?
- How Butlerian is your Jihad?
- Can critical AI save lives?

The Critical AI Centre @craicexeter.bsky.social · 3d

Brett Zehner chaired our third panel, Critical Thought After the AI Turn. Deep conversation was held on themes of labour, life, and the body from speakers @thomas-dekeyser.bsky.social, @smwark.bsky.social, @hannems.bsky.social, and @danmcquillan.bsky.social

Speaker Thomas Dekeyser presenting in front of a slide titled "AI (re-)configures the relationship between authoritarianism and difference" alongside the panel

Speaker Scott Wark presenting in front of a slide titled "The Internet is Not for Humans" alongside the panel

Speaker Hanne Stegeman presenting her work on "Where is the Body?" alongside the panel

Online speaker Dan McQuillan presenting a slide on his book "Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence"

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 3d

it's occupying 80% of my brain (that's not saying much though)

Reposted by Dan McQuillan

peterkwells @peterkwells.com · 4d

Sure, I'm meant to be tidying up a report for a meeting at 11.30 but at least 20% of my brain is pondering what costume to wear if a UK ICE tries to nick my friends and neighbours

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 4d

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

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Reposted by Dan McQuillan

Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 4d

Tonight in “war ravaged” Portland… a frog brigade standing guard outside the ICE facility.

Trump says there’s “nowhere worse than Portland”… and the frogs magically multiply.

They’re showing that he’s not only a liar, but Portland is still safe, still weird and still full of people resisting.

Three people in frog costumes stand outside the Portland ice facility at night. They’re holding a sign that says frog brigade

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 5d

I got into a bit of argy-bargy on the Burning Platforms podcast, but tried to hold the line on the need to resist AI across the board: "Bursting Bubbles with Dan McQuillan" burningplatforms.podbean.com/e/bursting-b...

Bursting Bubbles with Dan McQuillan | Burning Platforms

Is the rise of AI inevitable or just the latest cycle of hype for a sector that thrives on the vibes? The author of “Resisting AI’, Professor Dan McQuillan, joins the show to argue for a more fundamen...

burningplatforms.podbean.com

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Reposted by Dan McQuillan

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 5d

#WarRavagedPortland

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Dan McQuillan @danmcquillan.bsky.social · 5d

appreciated!