Nantina Vgontzas, a 2018-2019 CES fellow, is the co-author of an important article posted on The Nation website.
In the early 1940’s, singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie, the left-wing bard, famously placed a sign on his guitar saying, “This machine kills fascists.” Vgontzas and Meredith Whittaker entitle their piece, “These machines won’t kill fascism.”
Beginning with the far right insurrection on January 6th, they argue that activists must prioritize struggles to bring the tech industry under control.
Showing the power of big data, algorithms, and technological infrastructure, they argue for the urgency of popular movements to contest for control over these key resources.