Ghost in the Machine: documentary film, 2026
@ghostdoc2026.bsky.social
The untold origins of artificial intelligence lie not in machines but in power. We're revealing the fantasies behind the hype that got us here, and where we go next. Mandatory viewing for anyone thinking about or using AI. notaidoc.com
Making small talk with a parent while waiting to pick up our kids from camp and I revealed I was an AI hater and the other parent said she too was an AI hater and also she was a documentary filmmaker and of course we bonded further over our love of @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social which you should watch:
GHOST IN THE MACHINE (2026) OFFICIAL TRAILER
YouTube video by Ghost in the Machine
youtu.be
That's not "sidestepping," it's regulatory capture. Come on, y'all.
Reuters@reuters.com · last wk.EPA says power for data centers can sidestep pollution laws reut.rs/3RzNU4A
“AI is, above all else, a weapon of class war from above. Whether it’s the state that wields it or corporations does little to change that fact.” — @hagenblix.bsky.social and Ingeborg Glimmer
The Socialist Case Against Nationalizing AI
AI is not a neutral technology whose benefits need to be redistributed. It is a weapon of class war from above, designed to cheapen labor and concentrate power. Nationalizing it does nothing to change...
jacobin.com
Today, The AI Con is being released in paperback in the UK! Now in cool blue! (with @emilymbender.bsky.social)
And I'd like to point out that when fascism enters the chat, politely avoiding calling it out is nothing less than complicity.
My reply: Not everyone who disagrees with me, but people who are loudly aligning themselves with a fascist project. That opinion isn't knee-jerk either, but rather deeply informed. Some good starting points for learning more: @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social notaidoc.com >>
Ghost in the Machine
Not AI | Ghost in the Machine - A Documentary by Valerie Veatch | Premiering at Sundance 2026
notaidoc.com
HEALDSBURG, CA ☀️ We'll be screening at True West Film Center on July 30th - The 6:30 PM showing will be followed by a virtual director Q&A. Get your tickets at the link below!
Ghost in the Machine (Virtual Q&A with Director Valerie Veatch) | True West Film Center
truewestfilmcenter.org
MINNEAPOLIS! University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Ctr. (UROC) Thursday July 23rd 2PM CST OPEN AND FREE TO ALL - no registration required! 2001 Plymouth Ave. North Minneapolis, MN 55411
A lot of people don’t realize the dust bowl wasn’t a natural phenomenon. It happened when agrobusiness interests dramatically transformed the plains without regard for drought, and created vicious dust storms that choked whole families to death. That’s what I think of when I read about data centers.
"Advancing fast" --- what exactly is being measured? When you push hard enough, it's usually just the amount of compute being used/carbon being released/cash being burned, because the actual evaluation of these systems is fucked. >>
How about a jet-lagged live posting while I read? Trying to read this because I keep getting tagged in posts about it, but the first paragraph already contains synthetic text (a quote from Claude). I will skip that bit and persevere... www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Could AI be conscious?
Experts believe it’s at least possible. We urgently need a plan to navigate the ethical implications
theguardian.com
“Someone should invent a high tech self-replicating machine that uses solar energy to remove carbon from the air and turn it into a sustainable building material. Oh wait, that’s what trees are.” (Surveee) Alaska is home to two of the nation’s largest national forests: the Chugach and Tongass :-)}
Beyond that, I expect all professional organizations to stand for good citational practice and care with information provenance. The use of LLMs (and related tech) ruptures such systems. >>
When people ask me what the phrase "artificial intelligence" means, my short answer is, it means "venture capitalists, give me some money". But OUP asked me for a longer answer, given here and summarized in the section headings: doi.org/10.1093/9780...
MORGAN STANLEY: "We are raising '27/'28 total hyperscaler capex (ex-SPCX, included for first time) by 9%/10%, now modeling $1.2T/$1.4T .. ".. social backlash to data center development and political uncertainty into the '28 presidential election are causing hyperscalers to start building sooner .."
Tweet so good I printed it out and put it on my wall. I referred to it in a conference talk today @hypervisible.blacksky.app
Monday at 7 we are screening the the excellent doc Ghost in the Machine by @valerieveatch.bsky.social at @bambrooklyn.bsky.social. Truly a not to be missed film.
Ghost in the Machine
This visceral documentary unearths the buried history of artificial intelligence.
bam.org
Data center application withdrawn, hopefully to be replaced by the housing for which the area was zoned. (Also, I want it noted for the record that i left a perfectly good "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" joke on the table, here)
Kelly Stuart@skyspider.bsky.social · 4w agoWild roller coaster meeting. With 52 speakers against the data center- the CEO of the company who was sitting in the audience with withdrew his application after around 45 speakers. No data center will be built in place of the Hyatt.
more info on the book here 👀
Paris Marx@parismarx.com · last mo.HYPERSCALE is hitting bookstores on October 20. Preorder it now! In the book, I dig into how the data center boom is pushing our planet past its breaking point, and the incredible efforts of people pushing back against the profit-driven interests of Big Tech. Get your copy: hyperscalebook.com
The AI industry is spending big to buy supportive candidates in the US midterms. But with public opinion turning against AI and data centers, will it make a difference? Always great to chat with @molly.wiki!
Tech Won’t Save Us@techwontsave.us · 4w agoThe crypto industry set the playbook. Now the AI industry is spending big on the US midterms to buy support. This week @molly.wiki joins @parismarx.com to discuss the money flooding into US elections to ensure favorable regulation for AI and data centers. Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/336_...
So… Cheyenne, WY won't take data center wastewater anymore after Meta/FB's "Fill and Flush" process (how they test data center cooling systems) was responsible for polluting their whole community's wastewater reclamation system with Cupriavidus gilardii bacteria: cowboystatedaily.com/2026/07/02/c...
“Even as Chatrie appears to be a win for privacy, it underscores an ominous development: we have inadvertently yielded a startling degree of control over law enforcement investigations to corporations.”
Who’s Regulating Police Technology? It’s Not the Courts.
Public institutions are ceding to industry the power to regulate policing, writes Texas A&M University School of Law professor Hannah Bloch-Wehba.
techpolicy.press
Every day is like “this company is trying to build a gateway to hell” yet we are all supposed to pretend like everything is fine.
This startup wants to turn the world into a searchable video feed, starting in San Francisco
Orchestra has installed more than 100 cameras in San Francisco. Next up: 900 more, then the rest of the world.
businessinsider.com
This is something I highlight in convos. The content & the work is human but packaged as a shiny thing that lives in the cloud. The extractivism & exploitation is real. Please watch @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social; as workers we must show solidarity with annotators & labellers. #ResistAI
Tony Roberts@phatcontroller.bsky.social · last mo.Every pass and foul in the World cup is logged and labeled by data workers in India, the Philippines and Cairo to the train AI algorithms used by betting companies and team data analysts. restofworld.org/2026/fifa-wo...
A massive Georgia data center drained nearly 30 million gallons of water, sparking outrage among local residents asked to conserve water during a drought. Residents of Fayetteville, Georgia, first noticed something was wrong when their home water pressure mysteriously plummeted.
‘We’re up against forces that have all the money in the world’: Erin Brockovich on her battle against AI datacentres www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘We’re up against forces that have all the money in the world’: Erin Brockovich on her battle against AI datacentres
In 1993, she squeezed a $333m settlement from a Californian energy company in a scandal over contaminated water. Three decades later, she has a new target in her sights – and it’s global
theguardian.com
