The AI industry is so unpopular that it has started paying for the support it can’t earn. So what does it take for people to turn that mistrust into power that the industry can’t just buy off?

More like this: Flock Shock: How Local Fights Over Surveillance Are Reshaping American Politics w/ Sarah Hamid & Anthony Ralphs

In this episode, Steven Renderos, Executive Director of MediaJustice, walks us through our current political climate as data centers become a kitchen table issue and AI PACs stealthily pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the midterms. Steven also argues that the biggest mistake we can make is accepting the inevitability argument, and shares how we can build something that holds up for the next fight and the fights to come.

Further reading & resources:

• BroBots vs the People Campaign — MediaJustice
• The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South — MediaJustice
• Media Capture: Who Controls the Story Controls the Future — MediaJustice
• While the Left Sleeps — Phil Agre, Wired, Aug 1995

Join The Maybe Collective to explore the politics of technology through community discussions, access to exclusive digital events, and real ways to get more involved on issues you care about.

Computer Says Maybe is produced by Kushal Dev, Marion Wellington, Van Newman, and Zoe Trout.