Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Who knew that the breakthrough moment of AI sentience would come from interacting with an annoying neo-Luddite?
After failing to raise a single dollar for PCI’s newest initiative — the $350 billion Transdisciplinary Institute for Phalse Prophet Studies and Education (TIPPSE) — Jason, Rob, and Asher devise the only profitable pitch for raising capital: using AI technology to cure the loneliness that technology itself causes. The only problem is that AI chatbots won’t talk to us, as evidenced by Asher’s experience of being blocked by an AI “friend.” So Asher turns to the flesh-and-blood author of Blood in the Machine, Brian Merchant, to discuss the rise of the neo-Luddite movement — the only people who might be able to stand your humble Crazy Town hosts.
Brian Merchant is a writer, reporter, and author. He is currently reporter in residence at the AI Now Institute and publishes his own newsletter, Blood in the Machine, which has the same title as his 2023 book. Previously, Brian was the technology columnist at the Los Angeles Times and a senior editor at Motherboard.
Originally recorded on 1/3/25 (warm-up conversation) and 3/24/25 (interview with Brian).
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:
Press Release announcing closure of TIPPSE
resilience.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TIPPSE-Closure-Press-Release.pdf
Funding for Friend
crunchbase.com/organization/friend-5a27
Screenshot of Asher’s conversation with Friend’s bot, Faith
resilience.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Asher-and-Faith-Chat-Transcript.jpg
Lyrics to “Not Going to Mars” by Pyrrhon
genius.com/Pyrrhon-not-going-to-mars-lyrics
Brian Merchant’s Substack, Blood in the Machine
bloodinthemachine.com
Brian’s book, Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech
bookshop.org/p/books/blood-in-the-machine-the-origins-of-the-rebellion-against-big-tech-brian-merchant/17824365?ean=9780316487740
New York Times article on the Luddite Club: “‘Luddite’ Teens Don’t Want Your Likes”
nytimes.com/2022/12/15/style/teens-social-media.html
Crazy Town Episode 72: Sucking CO2 and Electrifying Everything: The Climate Movement’s Desperate Dependence on Tenuous Technologies
resilience.org/stories/2023-05-10/crazy-town-episode-72-dueling-ecomodernists
Brian’s essay in The Atlantic, “The New Luddites Aren’t Backing Down”
theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/02/new-luddites-ai-protest/677327
Who knew that the breakthrough moment of AI sentience would come from interacting with an annoying neo-Luddite?
After failing to raise a single dollar for PCI’s newest initiative — the $350 billion Transdisciplinary Institute for Phalse Prophet Studies and Education (TIPPSE) — Jason, Rob, and Asher devise the only profitable pitch for raising capital: using AI technology to cure the loneliness that technology itself causes. The only problem is that AI chatbots won’t talk to us, as evidenced by Asher’s experience of being blocked by an AI “friend.” So Asher turns to the flesh-and-blood author of Blood in the Machine, Brian Merchant, to discuss the rise of the neo-Luddite movement — the only people who might be able to stand your humble Crazy Town hosts.
Brian Merchant is a writer, reporter, and author. He is currently reporter in residence at the AI Now Institute and publishes his own newsletter, Blood in the Machine, which has the same title as his 2023 book. Previously, Brian was the technology columnist at the Los Angeles Times and a senior editor at Motherboard.
Originally recorded on 1/3/25 (warm-up conversation) and 3/24/25 (interview with Brian).
Warning: This podcast occasionally uses spicy language.
Sources/Links/Notes:
Press Release announcing closure of TIPPSE
resilience.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TIPPSE-Closure-Press-Release.pdf
Funding for Friend
crunchbase.com/organization/friend-5a27
Screenshot of Asher’s conversation with Friend’s bot, Faith
resilience.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Asher-and-Faith-Chat-Transcript.jpg
Lyrics to “Not Going to Mars” by Pyrrhon
genius.com/Pyrrhon-not-going-to-mars-lyrics
Brian Merchant’s Substack, Blood in the Machine
bloodinthemachine.com
Brian’s book, Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech
bookshop.org/p/books/blood-in-the-machine-the-origins-of-the-rebellion-against-big-tech-brian-merchant/17824365?ean=9780316487740
New York Times article on the Luddite Club: “‘Luddite’ Teens Don’t Want Your Likes”
nytimes.com/2022/12/15/style/teens-social-media.html
Crazy Town Episode 72: Sucking CO2 and Electrifying Everything: The Climate Movement’s Desperate Dependence on Tenuous Technologies
resilience.org/stories/2023-05-10/crazy-town-episode-72-dueling-ecomodernists
Brian’s essay in The Atlantic, “The New Luddites Aren’t Backing Down”
theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/02/new-luddites-ai-protest/677327
