In Episode 319 of the CounterVortex podcast [11], Bill Weinberg resumes his rant against the hegemony [12] of digital and cellular technology—and takes heart from the local New York chapter of the Luddite Club [13]—smart, free-thinking youth who are eschewing [14] cellphones and social media in favor of "real life." Despite the cynical predictions [15] of some, the chapter is true to its values and refreshingly doesn't even have a website—although a documentary film [16] about them is in the works. In other glimmers of hope, the New York City nurses' strike [17] that just ended [18] in victory [19] had as one of the key demands [20] safeguards against workers being replaced by artificial intelligence. And the recent AI Impact Summit [25] in Delhi was disrupted [22] by a protest action [23].
These signs of human resistance inevitably face contradictions, however. Some members of the Luddite Club spoke favorably of the new youth social media ban [26] in Australia, which is opposed by civil-liberties groups—pointing to a long-term intractable dilemma.
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Books discussed:
Rebels Against the Future: The Luddites and Their War on the Industrial Revolution — Lessons for the Computer Age [28] by Kirkpatrick Sale, Addison-Wesley 1995
Front Lines: A Lifetime of Drawing Resistance [29] by Susan Simensky Bietila, PM Press 2026
Production by Chris Rywalt [30]
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