Listen now (55 mins) | We dial in to talk about my Silicon Valley Soviet immigrant tech bro origins story, my early anti-tech documentary attempts, and the anti-Silicon Valley series I’m making now — Vampire Valley. I’m raising money for the doc right now. So pitch in if you have some extra cash
OK, so here we are online listening to what being online all the time is doing to us. I am actually spending a lot of my online time following Doctorow's book tour. I find both of your viewpoints quite stirring, and I can easily reconcile them. Listening/Watching Doctorow really makes me think of my mobile and how the interface just works me so hard. I really feel that and being back in the U.S. it is even heavier on me - so invasive with everything verified by what is probably the most hackable of all our devices?!?! WTF, Amerika?
On the other hand, Vampire Valley reaches deeper into a societal level of what "IT" is doing to the spiritual side of being human? Doctorow touched on what irritates the hell out of me, while your work is making me deeply question what is happening to our society, to those around me, and of course, to me.
Also this old doc about the toll keepers sounds intriguing. I wonder if any of those guys are still around? Most likely they were able to retire under decent pension plans and might have stayed in touch - could be an interesting element.
No problem. I digitized a ton of DV tapes and old analog VHS, beta, 3/4 tape sources during covid. Ping me if you guys run into any technical problems.
This such a great project – sorry we don't have more $ to donate. "Artificial Intelligence"? A great marketing tag for a modest amount of technological progress. "Innovation"? Well … at least the creation of a transport system that has destroyed the actual post office, as well as adding countless low-wage jobs packing and delivering shit. One in which supposedly left-thinking podcasters feel fine reading endless ads for products that presuppose a majority that, while well-off, has become incapable of choosing its own clothes, determining what news to read, buying and cooking its own dinners. They earnestly discuss political "solutions" while shilling for companies that rely on jobs/wages they would never deign to do/try to live on. What may once have been journalism – having worked at a US paper, I am sceptical – is now a world whose every individual wants you to pay to read his opinions. A world far more concerned with eternally analysing its own problems than doing anything for anyone else, anywhere. Many thanks for being an honourable exception and happy holidays to all three of you and your loved ones.
Great episode!
OK, so here we are online listening to what being online all the time is doing to us. I am actually spending a lot of my online time following Doctorow's book tour. I find both of your viewpoints quite stirring, and I can easily reconcile them. Listening/Watching Doctorow really makes me think of my mobile and how the interface just works me so hard. I really feel that and being back in the U.S. it is even heavier on me - so invasive with everything verified by what is probably the most hackable of all our devices?!?! WTF, Amerika?
On the other hand, Vampire Valley reaches deeper into a societal level of what "IT" is doing to the spiritual side of being human? Doctorow touched on what irritates the hell out of me, while your work is making me deeply question what is happening to our society, to those around me, and of course, to me.
Also this old doc about the toll keepers sounds intriguing. I wonder if any of those guys are still around? Most likely they were able to retire under decent pension plans and might have stayed in touch - could be an interesting element.
Yasha I'd be happy to take a crack at repairing the audio of the old DV footage. Can you send me a small sample for testing?
Thanks! It’ll have to be next month when I can get at the footage. I also need to capture it first from DV…
No problem. I digitized a ton of DV tapes and old analog VHS, beta, 3/4 tape sources during covid. Ping me if you guys run into any technical problems.
Hubert Dreyfus seems pretty cool...Heideggerian critic of AI at Berkeley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Dreyfus%27s_views_on_artificial_intelligence
This such a great project – sorry we don't have more $ to donate. "Artificial Intelligence"? A great marketing tag for a modest amount of technological progress. "Innovation"? Well … at least the creation of a transport system that has destroyed the actual post office, as well as adding countless low-wage jobs packing and delivering shit. One in which supposedly left-thinking podcasters feel fine reading endless ads for products that presuppose a majority that, while well-off, has become incapable of choosing its own clothes, determining what news to read, buying and cooking its own dinners. They earnestly discuss political "solutions" while shilling for companies that rely on jobs/wages they would never deign to do/try to live on. What may once have been journalism – having worked at a US paper, I am sceptical – is now a world whose every individual wants you to pay to read his opinions. A world far more concerned with eternally analysing its own problems than doing anything for anyone else, anywhere. Many thanks for being an honourable exception and happy holidays to all three of you and your loved ones.