The increase in highly publicized deportations is unnerving both undocumented and documented migrants in the United States. Indigenous people from other countries, some who have visas or are awaiting decisions from immigration proceedings, are among those caught up in the Trump administration’s focus on mass deportations. Many of those who remain say they live in fear of being apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The New York Times reports immigration actions appear to have ramped up in May. The top deportation destination are Guatemala and Honduras, places where Indigenous people are fleeing violence and poverty. We’ll talk with people working with migrants about what is happening on the ground and what is different than actions in the past.
We chat with Emily Bender and Alex Hanna — authors of AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want — and pierce the veil of hype by getting into how these systems actually work and, importantly, the work they cannot do despite claims by boosters and doomers alike. Think of datasets like ImageNet or LAION-5B as big vats of pink slime and LLMs like ChatGPT as “synthetic text extruding machines” that turn pink slime into nuggets of text. It’s easy to forget that these magical mystery machines are direct descendants of very unexciting things like “T9 word.” We end the episode by chatting about why we shouldn’t trust the hype about how AI is going to destroy (or revolutionize) the education sector.
••• The AI Con | Emily Bender and Alex Hanna https://thecon.ai/
••• On the genealogy of machine learning datasets: A critical history of ImageNet https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20539517211035955
••• Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 https://www.dair-institute.org/maiht3k/
Standing Plugs:
••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite
••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble
••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)
The last time you bought something, did you use a card, cash or something else? If you automatically thought "who uses cash nowadays", you're far from alone. More and more people are eschewing physical currency for digital dollars, and this move seems largely supported by big banks as well some countries. Proponents argue a cashless society has no shortage of benefits for everyone involved, but critics suspect there are more than a few dangerous possibilities at play -- and something sinister may be afoot.
Three Alaska Native tribes filed a lawsuit to stop a controversial gold mining operation east of Nome. The tribes say a permit just granted by the U.S. Corps of Engineers will allow the destruction of salmon habitat and other important environmental elements in a pristine estuary. The mining process involves extracting ore from material dredged from river and ocean beds.
On the other side of the state, residents of Wrangell are concerned about a gold mine just over the border in Canada. A new report finds heavy metals in groundwater on the Alaska side.
In this episode, Rivers Langley is back in his hometown of Auburn, Alabama chillin' out with TWO of our all-time favorites, Auburn legend Miles Bugg and comedian Nick Morgan-Moore! We kick this one off by sampling an Atlanta-based energy drinkc alled "Rap Star". We also talk about their founder, Johnny "Kassflo" Thomas, and all of his weird business ventures. Then, we talk about a recent story out of the UK involving a pirate shanty band called the "Old Time Sailors" who are allegedly doing modern day slavery. Nick tells us about some Australian outlaw heroes and Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" is our JAM OF THE WEEK! Give us a listen. We love you! Follow Miles Bugg on Instagram @BioBugg Follow Nick on social media @NickWMM Follow our show @TheGoodsPod Rivers is @RiversLangley Sam is @SlamHarter Carter is @Carter_Glascock Subscribe on Patreon for the UNCUT video version of this episode as well as TONS of bonus content! http://patreon.com/TheGoodsPod Pick up a Goods from the Woods t-shirt here: http://prowrestlingtees.com/TheGoodsPod
The United States may FINALLY ditch the inconvenient and terrible penny (Ben here -- can you tell I write the descriptions?). A popular food coloring turns the skin of mice transparent. Investigations verify the CIA's use of oddly updated websites to communicate with assets. A new ChatGPT model refuses to shut itself down. All this and more in this week's strange news segment.
David A. Robertson (Norway House Cree Nation) gives us 52 practical suggestions — one for each week of the year — to support and connect with Indigenous people. 52 Ways to Reconcile lists tasks as simple and enjoyable as making Bannock, to as challenging as taking personal action toward reconciliation.
Matthew Fletcher (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians) has devoted himself to the legal profession, becoming one of the most respected experts in Indian Law. In his spare time he has written and published a collection of fictional short stories, Stick Houses. He draws from his own observations and stories from his family to illustrate the lives of modern Native Americans.
We’ll add Matthew Fletcher’s Stick Houses, and David A. Robertson’s 52 Ways to Reconcile to the Native Bookshelf.
The increase in highly publicized deportations is unnerving both undocumented and documented migrants in the United States. Indigenous people from other countries, some who have visas or are awaiting decisions from immigration proceedings, are among those caught up in the Trump administration’s focus on mass deportations. Many of those who remain say they live in fear of being apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The New York Times reports immigration actions appear to have ramped up in May. The top deportation destination are Guatemala and Honduras, places where Indigenous people are fleeing violence and poverty. We’ll talk with people working with migrants about what is happening on the ground and what is different than actions in the past. 
