Keen On America

• Episode 2535: Tim Minshall on How We Manufacture Things, Why It Matters and How We Can Do It Better

  Walmart just announced it would be raising prices because of tariffs. So is that a good argument against Trump’s autarkic trade policies? Perhaps. But, as the Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge, Tim Minshall, points out, the global system of manufacturing is a complex thing. He argues that while countries shouldn't attempt complete manufacturing self-sufficiency, maintaining some domestic capability is crucial for innovation and resilience. Minshall, whose new book How Things Are Made, explores the hidden world of manufacturing, explains how the industrial manufacturing and knowledge economies are deeply interconnected, and how relocating production isn't simple due to complex supplier networks and specialized skills. He addresses challenges facing manufacturing powers like Germany and examines China's rising dominance. Minshall concludes that manufacturing must become both better (less environmentally harmful) and focused on creating better products, while consumers must recognize both their role and responsibility in this complex system. Five takeaways * Manufacturing is essential for national "sovereign capability" but countries don't need to make everything themselves - a balanced approach is better than complete self-sufficiency or total offshoring.* Knowledge economies and manufacturing are interdependent - research and development require tight coupling with production, and letting manufacturing disappear overseas can damage innovation capabilities.* Manufacturing supply chains are incredibly complex - components for products like iPhones travel "around six times around the world" and factories can't simply be relocated overnight as skills, suppliers and infrastructure take years to develop.* Modern manufacturing faces two major problems: fragility (as demonstrated during COVID) and environmental damage from production and logistics.* We need both "better manufacturing" (less harmful processes) and "manufacturing better things" (like clean energy systems), while recognizing our role as consumers in driving manufacturing choices.Tim Minshall is the inaugural Dr John C. Taylor Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge, the head of the Engineering Department’s Institute for Manufacturing and a fellow of Churchill College. His research, teaching and outreach are focused on the links between manufacturing and innovation. He lives in Cambridge with his scientist wife, Nicola.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

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• Episode 2534: Why Generative AI is a Technological Dead End

  Something doesn’t smell right about generative AI. Earlier this week, we had a featuring a former Google researcher who described large language models (LLMs) as a “con”. Then, of course, there’s OpenAI CEO Sam Altman who critics both inside and outside OpenAI, see as a little more than a persuasive conman. Scam or not, the biggest technical problem with LLMs, according to Peter Vos, who invented the term Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), is that it lacks memory and thus are inherently incapable of incremental learning. Voss, the current CEO of Aigo.ai, argues that LLMs therefore represent a technological “dead end” for AI. The industry, Voss argues, has gone “fundamentally wrong” with generative AI. It’s a classic economic mania, he says. And, as with all bubbles in the past - like Dutch tulips, internet DotComs or Japanese real-estate - it will eventually burst with devastating consequences. Peter Voss is a pioneer in AI who coined the term 'AGI' (Artificial General Intelligence) in 2001. As an engineer, scientist, inventor, and serial entrepreneur, he developed a comprehensive ERP package, growing his company from zero to a 400-person IPO in seven years. For the past 20 years, he has studied intelligence and AI, leading to the creation of the Aigo engine, a proto-AGI natural language intelligence that is revolutionizing call centers and advancing towards human-level intelligence.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

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• Episode 2533: Leah Litman on the Bad Vibes of the Supreme Court

  It’s probably not news that today’s Supreme Court runs on crazy conservative grudges and even crazier patrimonial fringe theories. But according to Leah Litman, Crooked Media podcaster and author of Lawless, the Supreme Court in Trump’s America is most defined by what she memorably identifies as “bad vibes” (ie: feelings and anxieties). Litman argues these vibes reflect Republican anxieties about America's increasing cultural diversity and long term shift to a more progressive consensus. Litman characterizes the Roberts’ Supreme Court as implementing a "vindictive patriarchy" that seeks to return women to traditional roles. She criticizes Court decisions on voting rights, presidential immunity, and reproductive freedom as serving the minority interests of wealthy white men. The Court’s bad vibes, Litman says, extend to America's current constitutional crisis, particularly regarding Trump's executive overreach and the legal profession's pathetic response to this authoritarian power grab. five key takeaways * Litman argues that today's Supreme Court decisions are based on "vibes" (feelings and anxieties) rather than objective legal principles, leading her to characterize it as "lawless."* She positions the Court as part of a longer Republican project to use judicial power to implement conservative social policies, particularly regarding women's roles and reproductive rights.* Litman describes the current situation as a "vindictive patriarchy," where conservative men feel entitled to women's time and companionship, evidenced by backlash against women's independence.* Litman, who teaches law at Michigan, expresses disappointment in how large law firms have capitulated to Trump's administration instead of engaging in collective resistance to protect the rule of law.* Litman believes America is experiencing a constitutional crisis, with Congress failing to check executive power and the courts inconsistently resisting presidential overreach, particularly regarding deportations and executive actions.Leah Litman is a professor of law at the University of Michigan and a former Supreme Court clerk. In addition to cohosting Strict Scrutiny, she writes frequently about the Court for media outlets including The Washington Post, Slate, and The Atlantic, among others, and has appeared as a commentator on NPR and MSNBC, in addition to other venues. She has received the Ruth Bader Ginsburg award for her “scholarly excellence” from the American Constitution Society and published in top law reviews. Follow her on X @LeahLitman and Instagram @ProfLeahLitman.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

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• Episode 2532: Mattea Kramer on how Addiction has replaced Apple Pie as the most American of things

  Rather than apple pie, addiction might be defining quality of 21st century American life. That, at least, is the view of Mattea Kramer, author of Untended, a contemporary novel about addiction in small town America. She argues that individualistic American capitalism has caused an plague of addiction - in everything from drugs and alcohol to technology and egoism. Kramer sees community as the only real antidote to this epidemic. She connects addiction to broader social issues like economic exploitation and discusses how small-town America has been ravaged by this epidemic and by what she calls “late-stage capitalism”. So how to address this epidemic of addiction in contemporary America? Kramer has no simple fix, but emphasizes the importance of recognizing the humanity in those struggling with addiction and suggests that moral agency and human connection offer hope amid these challenges. Five Key Takeaways * American individualism and capitalism create fertile ground for addiction by fostering isolation and disconnection, leading people to seek substances or behaviors that fill this void.* Addiction extends beyond substances to include work, devices, shopping, and even the pursuit of feeling "special and successful," which Kramer identifies as her family's particular "quintessentially American" addiction.* The opioid crisis has created intergenerational trauma as children are left "untended" when parents struggle with addiction, perpetuating cycles of harm.* Stigma surrounding addiction makes recovery more difficult, especially for parents who face amplified shame that prevents them from seeking help.* Kramer believes reconnecting with our shared humanity and exercising moral agency through compassion offer the best path forward amid societal challenges, rather than focusing solely on individual willpower.Mattea Kramer is an American writer. She writes about drugs, power and powerlessness, and the voice in your head. She's been published in The Guardian, The Nation, Mother Jones, Guernica, and The Washington Post, and she has appeared on MSNBC and on radio stations across the country. Her first novel The Untended has just been published.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

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• Episode 2531: Emily Bender and Alex Hanna on the AI Con

  Is AI a big scam? In their co-authored new book, The AI Con, Emily Bender and Alex Hanna take aim at what they call big tech “hype”. They argue that large language models from OpenAI or Anthropic are merely what Bender dubs "stochastic parrots" that produce text without the human understanding nor the revolutionary technology that these companies claim. Both Bender, a professor of linguistics, and Hanna, a former AI researcher at Google, challenge the notion that AI will replace human workers, suggesting instead that these algorithms produce "mid" or "janky" content lacking human insight. They accuse tech companies of hyping fear of missing out (FOMO) to drive adoption. Instead of centralized AI controlled by corporations, they advocate for community-controlled technology that empowers users rather than exploiting them. Five Takeaways (with a little help from Claude)* Large language models are "stochastic parrots" that produce text based on probability distributions from training data without actual understanding or communicative intent.* The AI "revolution" is primarily driven by marketing and hype rather than groundbreaking technological innovations, creating fear of missing out (FOMO) to drive adoption.* AI companies are positioning their products as "general purpose technologies" like electricity, but LLMs lack the reliability and functionality to justify this comparison.* Corporate AI is designed to replace human labor and centralize power, which the authors see as an inherently political project with concerning implications.* Bender and Hanna advocate for community-controlled technology development where people have agency over the tools they use, citing examples like Teheku Media's language technology for Maori communities.Dr. Emily M. Bender is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington where she is also the Faculty Director of the Computational Linguistics Master of Science program and affiliate faculty in the School of Computer Science and Engineering and the Information School. In 2023, she was included in the inaugural Time 100 list of the most influential people in AI. She is frequently consulted by policymakers, from municipal officials to the federal government to the United Nations, for insight into into how to understand so-called AI technologies.Dr. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR). A sociologist by training, her work centers on the data used in new computational technologies, and the ways in which these data exacerbate racial, gender, and class inequality. She also works in the area of social movements, focusing on the dynamics of anti-racist campus protest in the US and Canada. She holds a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics and a BA in Sociology from Purdue University, and an MS and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Hanna is the co-author of The AI Con (Harper, 2025), a book about AI and the hype around it. With Emily M. Bender, she also runs the Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 series, playfully and wickedly tearing apart AI hype for a live audience online on Twitch and her podcast. She has published widely in top-tier venues across the social sciences, including the journals Mobilization, American Behavioral Scientist, and Big Data & Society, and top-tier computer science conferences such as CSCW, FAccT, and NeurIPS. Dr. Hanna serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Applied Transgender Studies and sits on the advisory board for the Human Rights Data Analysis Group. She is also recipient of the Wisconsin Alumni Association's Forward Award, has been included on FastCompany's Queer 50 (2021, 2024) List and Business Insider's AI Power List, and has been featured in the Cal Academy of Sciences New Science exhibit, which highlights queer and trans scientists of color.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

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