Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
Erald Kolasi returns to the podcast to remind us that AI doesn’t simply exist weightlessly in the ephemeral cloud. Drawing on his research into its global energy and emissions impact, Erald traces AI’s vast material infrastructure, from mining, semiconductors, water, energy, and logistics to data centers and power generation. His life-cycle analysis reveals a monster-sized ecological footprint, in contrast to conventional estimates that focus narrowly on electricity consumed at data centers.
But this goes deeper than technology. Steve and Erald examine AI through the dynamics of capital accumulation, monopoly power, financial speculation, imperialism, and the intimate relationship between corporations and the capitalist state. Its explosive growth reflects decisions about who controls society’s resources and what they are used for. The conversation closes by imagining a radically different trajectory: publicly controlled technology directed toward reducing necessary labor and meeting human needs rather than enriching private capital and accelerating ecological destruction. What kind of political economic system would this require?
AI is the subject, but capitalism is the story.
Erald Kolasi is a writer and researcher focusing on the nexus between energy, technology, economics, complex systems, and ecological dynamics. His book, The Physics of Capitalism, came out from Monthly Review Press in February 2025. He received his PhD in Physics from George Mason University in 2016. You can find out more about Erald and his work at his website, eraldkolasi.com.
Subscribe to his Substack: substack.com/@technodynamics
Chapters:
00:00 AI Is Everywhere
01:28 Meet Erald Kolasi
02:56 Paper Overview And Methods
06:27 What Counts As AI
09:19 Energy Footprint Or Capitalism
10:41 Jevons Paradox Explained
14:50 AI As Capital Accumulation
22:26 Defining Capitalism And Capital
27:06 Power Monopoly And Surveillance
30:27 State and Silicon Valley
31:18 China and the AI Race
31:43 Capital Needs the State
32:30 Musk and Public Subsidies
33:18 Imperial Resource Extraction
37:29 Open Source China Threat
40:17 Paper Takeaways
40:41 Life Cycle Footprints
45:46 Land Use Emissions
48:12 AI as an Industry
49:02 Public AI Alternatives
52:10 Dehype AI Promises
54:46 Organize Beyond Voting
57:37 Socialism as Solution
58:16 Closing and Support
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
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We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
#mmt
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
Erald Kolasi returns to the podcast to remind us that AI doesn’t simply exist weightlessly in the ephemeral cloud. Drawing on his research into its global energy and emissions impact, Erald traces AI’s vast material infrastructure, from mining, semiconductors, water, energy, and logistics to data centers and power generation. His life-cycle analysis reveals a monster-sized ecological footprint, in contrast to conventional estimates that focus narrowly on electricity consumed at data centers.
But this goes deeper than technology. Steve and Erald examine AI through the dynamics of capital accumulation, monopoly power, financial speculation, imperialism, and the intimate relationship between corporations and the capitalist state. Its explosive growth reflects decisions about who controls society’s resources and what they are used for. The conversation closes by imagining a radically different trajectory: publicly controlled technology directed toward reducing necessary labor and meeting human needs rather than enriching private capital and accelerating ecological destruction. What kind of political economic system would this require?
AI is the subject, but capitalism is the story.
Erald Kolasi is a writer and researcher focusing on the nexus between energy, technology, economics, complex systems, and ecological dynamics. His book, The Physics of Capitalism, came out from Monthly Review Press in February 2025. He received his PhD in Physics from George Mason University in 2016. You can find out more about Erald and his work at his website, eraldkolasi.com.
Subscribe to his Substack: substack.com/@technodynamics
Chapters:
00:00 AI Is Everywhere
01:28 Meet Erald Kolasi
02:56 Paper Overview And Methods
06:27 What Counts As AI
09:19 Energy Footprint Or Capitalism
10:41 Jevons Paradox Explained
14:50 AI As Capital Accumulation
22:26 Defining Capitalism And Capital
27:06 Power Monopoly And Surveillance
30:27 State and Silicon Valley
31:18 China and the AI Race
31:43 Capital Needs the State
32:30 Musk and Public Subsidies
33:18 Imperial Resource Extraction
37:29 Open Source China Threat
40:17 Paper Takeaways
40:41 Life Cycle Footprints
45:46 Land Use Emissions
48:12 AI as an Industry
49:02 Public AI Alternatives
52:10 Dehype AI Promises
54:46 Organize Beyond Voting
57:37 Socialism as Solution
58:16 Closing and Support
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Donorbox
donorbox.org/each-one-teach-one-3
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
Subscribe to our Substack:
realprogressives.substack.com
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
#mmt
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
