The Data Fix

Episodes

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  Trust, with Kate Kaye 12.10.2026 1h 2m

  Please treat yourself to the Trust Control podcast series with journalist Kate Kaye, who I get to be in conversation with for this episode of The Data Fix. We unpack what trust means to researchers, scientists. and entrepreneurs, especially in relation to AI, automation, and the media. We'll give you trust issues!Recorded October 5, 2026. Released October 12, 2026.Trust Controlhttps://open.spotify.com/show/033Vfy3ziT4cPbCs8nZ2ZGRedTail Mediahttps://redtailmedia.orgFollow @KateKaye.Bsky.Social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Care, with (Jennifer) Jill Fellows 14.09.2026 1h 1m

  This episode is about care, attentiveness and the skill of being in relationship(s). (Jennifer) Jill Fellows and I discuss the rise of AI intimacy and the programmed sycophancy of generativeAI today, and what it reveals is that our emotional attachments to chatbots might be more about how easily we can convince ourselves of its significance than about any sophisticated technology. That said, when you talk to these chatbots, you enter into a relationship with a corporation that always already has money as a bottom line, not your wellbeing. This serves as an analysis and a warning. Recorded Sept 4, 2026. Released Sept 14, 2026. Trigger warning -- we discuss self-harm and harm to others.Joseph Weizenbaum on ELIZA:https://dl.acm.org/doi/epdf/10.1145/365153.365168Sherry Turkle:https://sherryturkle.mit.edu/Hilde Lindemann's book on identity work:https://academic.oup.com/book/4499?login=falseJoan Tronto:https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/jctrontoShannon Vallor on Moral Deskilling:https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-014-0156-9Helen DeCruz on Believing to Belong:https://helendecruz.net/docs/DeCruz_belongbelief.pdfSimone Natale et. al. on chatbot relationships:https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221119021Rosanne Ramos on her relationship with Eren:https://www.newsweek.com/ai-artificial-intelligence-chatbot-romance-1820752Michael Geoffrey Asia on his life as a chatbot:https://data-workers.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/The-Emotional-Labor-Behind-AI-Intimacy-1.pdfRuo-Ning, Li, et. al. “Is a random human peer better than a highly supportive chatbot in reducing loneliness over time?” Journal of Expermental Sociology, Vol. 125.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2026.104911CBC Understood Artificial Intimacy:https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1353-the-naked-emperorPullback Podcast Episode on Relationships with Chatbots:https://pullback.podbean.com/e/computer-love/Paranormal Programming:https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-23-ideas/clip/16133623-we-believe-artificial-intelligence-believe-ghostsCBC Front Burner on Relationships with Chatbots:https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/can-you-have-a-real-relationship-with-an-ai-1.7206945CBC Spark on Relationships with AI:https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/bots-like-chatgpt-aren-t-sentient-why-do-we-insist-on-making-them-seem-like-they-are-1.6761709A Harem of Computers:https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/audio/9.6564912(Jennifer) Jill Fellows website:https://jenniferjillfellowsphd.opened.ca/Cyborg Goddess Podcast:https://cyborggoddess.opened.ca/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Rogue, with Eryk Salvaggio 31.08.2026 59m

  When is AI 'going rogue' and when is it just sloppy oversight by the companies designing the models? The answer won't surprise you -- probably -- but in this episode we discuss why we can both not believe the doom-hype marketing hype of AI companies and still be a bit worried about where this is all taking us. Erik Salvaggio unpacks and explains all of this better than anyone I know. Recorded Aug 27, 2026. Released Aug 31, 2026.Eryk Salvaggio’s websitecyberneticforests.comLinked In: Eryk Salvaggio’s Posthttps://www.linkedin.com/posts/eryk-salvaggio_when-you-see-a-headline-claiming-that-ai-activity-7485551550107656192-d-tq The System From Nowherehttps://mail.cyberneticforests.com/the-system-from-nowhere/On Stochastic Flocks & The Critical Problem of Useful AI https://www.techpolicy.press/stochastic-flocks-and-the-critical-problem-of-useful-ai/ On RLVR (the verifiable rewards bit) - "It's Not X, It's Y"https://mail.cyberneticforests.com/its-not-just-data-its-post-training/ The Data Fix: Soulless, with Eryk Salvaggiohttps://shows.acast.com/the-data-fix/episodes/639d6648b0a821001040e0e2 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Plausible, with Tracy Valcourt 10.08.2026 1h 16m

  Tracy Valcourt and I discuss this strange new AI phenomenon of using ads to sell both conservative veering on fascist ideology and AI production in itself, as a package. We meander through the strange worlds of advertising and AI and (re)consider the plausible. Recorded July 30, 2026. Released August 10, 2026.That white guy who can’t get a job at Tim Hortons? He’s AI | Visual investigations -- CBC 2025No Camera. No Crew. Just AI | Toyota Tundra CommercialBeing a Luddite Is Fun Again -- Janus Rose,Jul 27, 2026, 404New Yorkers Are Defacing This AI Startup’s Million-Dollar Ad Campaign -- Rae Witte, Sep 30, 2025, Futurism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Coalition, with Kris Akin and Matthew Shaw 27.07.2026 57m

  The Coalition for Responsible Data Center Development co-released the Data Center Opposition Report in April 2026, which we discuss in this episode with Kris Akin and Matthew Shaw. Recorded June 23, 2026. Released July 27, 2026. Coalition for Responsible Data Center DevelopmentOur Research — Coalition for Responsible Data Center DevelopmentData Center Opposition Report — Coalition for Responsible Data Center DevelopmentMap of Community Organizations Focusing on Data Centers — Coalition for Responsible Data Center Development Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Whispers, with Nicole Sugarman, Shawmar Pitts, Steph Jordan, Livia Garofalo, Cella Sum, and Linda Huber 13.07.2026 1h 19m

  This episode was a recap of an event called How to Stop a Data Center that took place at Swathmore College in April 2026. I was able to listen via Zoom and then later asked available panelists to come on the podcast to discuss community-based activism against AI data centers. Recorded June 17, 2026. Released July 13, 2026. Fight Data Centershttps://www.kairosfellows.org/fightdatacentersFor more info on Stop the Data Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan:Stop the Data Center Campaign link tree https://linktr.ee/stopthedata Stop the Data Center substack for major updates and calls to action https://stopthedatacenter.substack.com/ How to Stop a Data Centerhttps://www.counterpunch.org/2026/04/10/how-to-stop-a-data-center/ For more info on Steph Jordanhttps://stephaniebethjordan.com/ 'PENNSYLVANIA IS PERFECT'https://newint.org/science-and-technology/2026/pennsylvania-perfectPENNSYLVANIA’S POWERWhy Local Authority Is the Key to AI Infrastructure Decisions https://datasociety.net/library/pennsylvanias-power/DATA AS DESTINY IN THE STEEL CITYHow Pittsburgh’s Industrial Past Is Being Leveraged for an AI Futurehttps://datasociety.net/points/data-as-destiny-in-the-steel-city/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Monstrosities, with Rania Masri, Simon Enoch, Adam Wilkins, Lauren Stephens Smith, Sophie Toupin, Vijay Kolinjivadi, and Christiane Bailey 29.06.2026 1h 24m

  This episode is a recording of an event that took place at Concordia University: So an AI Data Centre is coming to your community? Don't panic! A roundtable on strategies for building community power. We discuss tactics and strategies for pushing back against Big Tech and their AI data centers -- seen as monstrosities by those who know how much humanity stands to lose by and through AI logics and their instantiations in infrastructure. Recorded June 12, 2026. Released June 29, 2026.Featuring: Adam Wilkins and Lauren Stephens Smith (Save Lorneville), Rania Masri (NC Environmental Justice Center), Simon Enoch (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives). Hosted by the Social Justice Centre.So you’re getting a data centre! Here’s what to knowhttps://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/so-youre-getting-a-data-centre-heres-what-to-know/In New Brunswick, residents battle the government over a planned AI data centrehttps://thenarwhal.ca/lorneville-ai-data-centre/Dr. Rania Masrihttps://ncejn.org/staff/dr-rania-masri/Event Sponsors: Social Justice Centre (Concordia), SCPA Student Association (SCPSA), School for Community and Public Affairs (Concordia), Climate Justice Montreal, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Time, Technology, and Capitalism (Concordia), Confronting Emergent Dystopia Working Group (Concordia). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Fiction, with Teresa Heffernan 15.06.2026 1h 6m

  This episode covers the role of fiction -- literal readings and total misreadings of sci-fi -- in how they shape tech CEOs ideas about the future. Teresa Hefffernan is incredible at communicating the problems with AI today. Please listen to the podcast/lecture linked below, too, for more. Recorded June 10, 2026. Released June 15, 2026.CBC Ideas Literature Versus the AI Industryhttps://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-23-ideas/clip/16208906-literature-versus-ai-industryThe 2026 Wiegand Lecture featuring Teresa Heffernan — Literature Versus the AI Industry https://youtu.be/hPV-Ql_KGzM?si=XperXIzFO5ydcStUTeresa Hefffernan websitehttps://www.socialrobotfutures.com/publicationsmedia/publications/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Rage, with Valerie Veatch 25.05.2026 59m

  This episode is with the amazing Valerie Veatch, director of Ghost in the Machine -- a documentary that serves as a critical takedown of "AI". It's the best argument against "AI" that I've seen, highlighting the voices of scholars across various academic disciplines. You can watch the film via the link below and listen to the director explain her process and ideas for continuing the conversation... as a trilogy. Recorded May 12, 2026. Released May 25, 2026. Ghost in the Machine 2026 • 1h 30m • Documentary • Valerie Veatch (dir)https://kinema.com/films/ghost-in-the-machine-pvxg4p Not AIhttps://notaidoc.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Strategies, with Sonja Solomun 11.05.2026 56m

  In this episode, in front of a live audience at Carleton University for their "The Ends of AI: A symposium on technopolitics and intellectual culture", I spoke about strategies and outlooks on environment justice with policy expert, Sonja Solomun. Recorded Apr 2, 2026. Released May 11, 2026.The end of accountability: How autonomous AI could supercharge climate disinformationhttps://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/27/opinion/ai-conspiracies-climate-disinformation Polarization as the technological goal – not the errorhttps://www.mediatechdemocracy.com/all-work/polarization-as-the-technological-goal-not-the-errorFrom Tech to Justice: A Call for Environmental Justice in AIhttps://ainowinstitute.org/publications/collection/a-new-ai-lexicon-sustainabilityBeyond Technology: The Role of Information Interference in Climate and Election Obstructionhttps://www.mediatechdemocracy.com/all-work/beyond-technology-the-role-of-information-interference-in-climate-and-election-obstruction“You will be in positions that matter. Positions in which you can decide thenature and quality of other people’s lives. Your errors may be irrevocable.So when you enter those places of trust, or power, dream a little before youthink, so your thoughts, your solutions, your directions, your choices aboutwho lives and who doesn’t, about who flourishes and who doesn’t will beworth the very sacred life you have chosen to live. You are not helpless.You are not heartless. And you have time.”― Toni Morrison, The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Simulation, with Dan McQuillan 27.04.2026 1h

  In this episode with Dan McQuillan, we discussed the current AI moment as/within the polycrisis, and also as a temporary period between illusion and simulation. Dan proposes a series of countermeasures to AI under the umbrella of 'decomputing'. We also spend some time talking about illusion, shame, authenticity, and a slew of other contradictions that are important to note in relation to this AI moment. Recorded Apr 7, 2026. Released Apr 27, 2026.Preprint: AI, Decomputing and the Interregnumhttps://www.danmcquillan.org/ai_decomputing_interregnum.html Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence (2022)https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/resisting-ai Meta Security Researcher's AI Agent Accidentally Deleted Her Emailshttps://www.pcmag.com/news/meta-security-researchers-openclaw-ai-agent-accidentally-deleted-her-emails Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Offloading, with [Anonymous] 13.04.2026 1h 9m

  For this episode, I interviewed someone who asked to be made anonymous (and voice altered) in order to openly discuss their complicated feelings of regularly offloading work tasks to an AI chatbot. Is there any shame is using AI? Isn’t everyone doing it? Why would people pretend not to? Does it change you? Is it bad for the brain? Recorded Mar 22, 2026. Released Apr 13, 2026.How I Realized AI Was Making Me Stupid—and What I Do Nowhttps://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/how-i-realized-ai-was-making-me-stupidand-what-i-do-now-5862ac4dStudy Finds That People Who Entrust Tasks to AI Are Losing Critical Thinking Skillshttps://futurism.com/study-ai-critical-thinking  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Mundane, with Wendy H. Wong 30.03.2026 1h

  In this episode, Wendy H. Wong explains the human rights implications of datafication. We talk about how data become valuable, sticky data, big tech’s encroachment on governance, our faces/selves as datapoints, and how the mundane underlies and explains so much of how data collection happens in the first place. Recorded Mar 20, 2026. Released Mar 30, 2026.Wendy H. Wong We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Agehttps://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262048576/we-the-data/Human Rights in the Digital Agehttps://youtu.be/HyLV5Tf54QM?si=y08lMREdIgYVULcGBig Tech companies govern our lives. It’s time they’re held accountable for ithttps://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-google-amazon-apple-meta-microsoft-governance-accountability/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Hollowed, with Olivia Guest, Iris van Rooij and Andrea Reyes Elizondo 16.03.2026 1h

  In this episode, Olivia Guest, Iris van Rooij and Andrea Reyes Elizondo discuss why it’s important to the overall purpose and significance of the university to resist the uncritical adoption of AI in academia. The risk of AI adoption is that it’ll hollow out the institutions first, and then society at large. Recorded Feb 27, 2026. Released March 16, 2026.Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in AcademiaOlivia Guest, Marcela Suarez, Barbara Müller, Edwin van Meerkerk, Arnoud Oude Groote Beverborg, Ronald de Haan, Andrea Reyes Elizondo, Mark Blokpoel, Natalia Scharfenberg, Annelies Kleinherenbrink, Ileana Camerino, Marieke Woensdregt, Dagmar Monett, Jed Brown, Lucy Avraamidou, Juliette Alenda-Demoutiez, Felienne Hermans & Iris van Rooijhttps://philarchive.org/rec/GUEATU*the 2nd quote read on the episode:Guest, O. (2025). What Does 'Human-Centred AI' Mean?. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2507.19960We've been here before! What do you mean?Olivia Guest, 18 February 2026https://olivia.science/before/Summer School: Critical AI Literacies for Resisting and Reclaiminghttps://irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2026/02/18/summer-school-critical-ai-literacies-for-resisting-and-reclaiming/ and https://olivia.science/ai/ Academic Collaborations and Public Health: Lessons from Dutch Universities' Tobacco Industry Partnerships for Fossil Fuel Ties. Zenodo. Knoester, L., Pereira, A., Vanheule, L., Reyes Elizondo, A., Littlejohn, A., & Urai, A. (2025). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15274865Why AI transparency is not enoughhttps://www.leidenmadtrics.nl/articles/why-ai-transparency-is-not-enough  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Opposition, with Daisy Maldonado, Annie Ersinghaus & Gilberto Manzanarez 02.03.2026 1h

  In this episode, Daisy Maldonado, Annie Ersinghaus, Gilberto Manzanarez and I discuss on-the-ground opposition to two data centers being built against the will of local residents: Project Jupiter (Oracle/Open AI) in New Mexico, and the largest data center in California -- in Imperial Valley. This conversation was part of: Powering AI from the Borderlands: Organizing Against Data Centers, facilitated by Dustin Edwards. Recorded Feb 24, 2026. Released Monday March 2, 2026.Powering AI from the Borderlands: Organizing Against Data Centershttps://cal.sdsu.edu/humtech/eventsGilberto Manzanarez on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/valleimperialresiste/Resistance to data centers rises on the borderhttps://www.hcn.org/articles/resistance-to-data-centers-rises-on-the-border/"Jupiter Watch" videos on Project Jupiter in New Mexicohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi_phIsUpRg&t=5sThe Water Is Coming ¡Ya Viene La Agua!Annie Ersinghaus’s short doc on the politics of the Rio Grande (Project Jupiter is pulling from underground water along the Rio Grande)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kgab5ICoWJI&t=430s  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Enough, with Adam Becker 16.02.2026 1h 11m

  In this episode, Adam Becker and I talk about our AI overlords and their “philosophical” influences — mostly eugenics-based pseudoscience and bad readings of sci-fi that make tech billionaires feel like they’ve earned their billions by being the smartest people on the planet… while ruining the planet. Recorded Feb 13, 2026. Released Feb 16, 2026.More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity (2025) https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9781541619593 BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w172zsskmkss5ll (start at 39:15)Rolling Stone Q&A: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/tech-billionaires-adam-becker-1235381649/Dreaming Against the Machinehttp://dreamingagainstthemachine.com/Forthcoming: Adam Becker’s new podcast website (bookmark this now for later!) Mentioned in our conversation:I Am An AI Hater by Anthony Moserhttps://anthonymoser.github.io/writing/ai/haterdom/2025/08/26/i-am-an-ai-hater.html  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Containment, with Zoë Sofoulis (Zoe Sofia) and Ingrid Richardson 02.02.2026 59m

  Great theorists make you see the world differently forever after. This is the case with my guests for this episode, Zoë Sofoulis (Zoe Sofia) and Ingrid Richardson — brilliant scholars helping us rethink containers and containment as a feminist strategy to rework worldly narratives about what holds, filters, leaks. This conversation was a special honour for me. Recorded January 23, 2026. Released February 2, 2026. Containment Technologies of Holding, Filtering, Leaking (2025) https://meson.press/books/containment/ Zoë Sofia Container Technologies (2000)https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227700296_Container_Technologies Shoutouts to:Re-Understanding Media: Feminist Extensions of Marshall McLuhan (Duke University Press) https://dukeupress.edu/re-understanding-media Insufferable Tools: Feminism Against Big Tech https://www.dukeupress.edu/insufferable-tools Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man Paperback –1994 https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262631594/understanding-media/ And much more… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Friendship, with Am Johal and Matt Hern 19.01.2026 57m

  In this first episode of 2026, I speak with Am Johal and Matt Stern, authors of the "O My Friends, There Is No Friend: The Politics of Friendship at the End of Ecology" (2025) to better understand what friendship means these days... at the "end of ecology". Is friendship political? Can an AI chatbot be a friend? Recorded Jan 16, 2026. Released Jan 19, 2026. Matt Hern, Am Johal O My Friends, There is No Friend (pdf)https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/022e1f6f-f14a-4c11-a94c-c95610919f8c/9783839470268.pdfBelow the Radar podcast:https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast.html***New Cover art by Oona Ode! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Predictable, with José Marichal 22.12.2025 55m

  José Marichal is exceptionally good at making the case for why we should all become algorithmic problems and also much more reflective of our engagement with social media. We are altered by recommendation algorithms -- and we should probably think now about how to renegotiate these terms? Happy holidays! Recorded Nov 27. Released Dec 22, 2025.You Must Become an Algorithmic ProblemRenegotiating the Socio-Technical Contracthttps://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/you-must-become-an-algorithmic-problem  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Advocates, with Meg Rintoul and Kathryn Barnwell 08.12.2025 1h 1m

  In this episode I speak with friends-neighbours-advocates Meg Rintoul and Kathryn Barnwell about current plans in place to build an AI data center in Nanaimo, B-C. -- and allowing ourselves to write a new story about the future. Recorded Nov 27. Released Dec 8, 2025.'Very scary': Nanaimo neighbours have water worries about new data centrehttps://www.reddit.com/r/nanaimo/comments/1oo24s3/very_scary_nanaimo_neighbours_have_water_worries/'An Island concern': Nanaimo water advocates want new data centre stoppedhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OQzc2bhtXwCBC: AI-related data centres use vast amounts of water. But gauging how much is a murky businesshttps://www.cbc.ca/news/ai-data-centre-canada-water-use-9.6939684 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.