📰 A critique of tech-criticism (2/2)

PLUS: A few of my favorite newsletters, organized in one place.

Hi there, and welcome back to Untangled, a newsletter and podcast about technology, people, and power. Two emails in two days! Wild, I know.

I don’t intend to pop into your inbox unexpectedly all that often - we all get enough emails, and it’s my sincere hope that you value the quality of each issue, not the quantity. But I’m stopping by with an important addendum to yesterday’s issue. See, I ended my last essay, “A critique of tech-criticism” by writing this:

Last but important thing: we also have agency! We can call out criti-hype when we see it and amplify alternative voices that explain what the technology can actually do, what it can’t, and who don’t anthropomorphize it; voices that critique systems, not technologies; that situate technological systems within broader social, cultural, and economic contexts. Ultimately, we need voices that move us beyond critique to positive, alternative visions. As I’ve written previously, we need voices that “reimagine the social systems that shape and are shaped by technology.”

After clicking ‘send’ on the email, I thought to myself, “uh, I could do the thing I’m encouraging others to do.” So, in that spirit, I’ve collected a few of my favorite Substack newsletters, broken down by the categories above. Please do yourself a favor and subscribe to those listed below. And maybe upgrade your Untangled subscription while you’re at it?

🤖 Newsletters that explain technologies, but don’t anthropomorphize them.

• Melanie Mitchell
  writes the fantastic newsletter
  AI: A Guide for Thinking Humans
  . Her latest series, “Did ChatGPT Really Pass Graduate Level Exams?” is a great place to start.

• AI Snake Oilby

  Sayash Kapoor
  and
  Arvind Narayanan
  continue to produce thoughtful explainers on AI topics, like this one, which distinguishes between speculative risks and real risks.

• If you want to dig even deeper into the technical weeds, check out the piece, “Understanding Large Language Models” by

  Sebastian Raschka
  and then sign up for his great newsletter,
  Ahead of AI

• Like deep analysis but also want to dig into the practicalities of engineering and product development? Then check out Technically by

  Justin
  or
  Refactoring
  by
  Luca Rossi
  . Both are engaging, accessible, and fun to read!

🏢 Newsletters that critique systems, not technologies.

• In Disconnect,

  Paris Marx
  cuts through grand futures offered by Silicon Valley, and situates tech news within its political economy context.

• Georgia Iacovou writes

  Horrific/Terrific
  , which rates each week in tech on a five-point scale from “Horrific” to “Terrific.” It’s a smart and fun analysis of tech news that doubles as a critique of capitalism.

• Molly White
  has become the go-to critic for crypto, blockchain technologies, and their relationship to social systems. She’s sharp in her technical analysis and her writing is clear, accessible, and entertaining. It is a delight to read!

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Newsletters that situate technology in social and cultural contexts.

• In The Convivial Society,

  L. M. Sacasas
  explores the relationship between technology and society, often with a dollop of history and philosophy, like this one on “Apocalyptic AI.”

• In Data: Made Not Found (by danah), STS scholar

  danah boyd
  weaves theory and research together in essays on topics at the “intersections of social and technical matters with an eye towards how these configurations shape and are shaped by structural inequities.” Check out her latest on the problem of deterministic thinking.

• The AI Ethics Brief is an in-depth accounting of ethical issues in AI. If you’re looking to go deep on a range of topics at the heart of AI ethics — auditing the auditors, virtue ethics, intersectionality, responsible data practices, etc. — well then sign up. You won’t regret it.

💫 Newsletters that seek to reimagine social and technical systems.

• New_ Public is one of my favorite projects, and not just because they were an early recommender of Untangled. It’s because they’re trying to reimagine digital spaces by drawing on inspiration from public spaces in the real world, like parks and libraries.

• Aviv Ovadya
  , who wrote the great paper on platform assemblies I analyzed in a recent issue writes
  Reimagining Technology
  , which aims to share “positive visions of a world where technology is good for people — and concrete actions that can help take us there.”

• Reboot, which recently celebrated its three-year anniversary with the insightful post, “Does Tech Criticism Still Matter?” writes on its about page: “Optimism is an action, not a belief. We’re neither accelerationists nor Luddites: we are agents chipping away at a better world.” That’s a vision I can get behind!

Got a favorite newsletter in one of these categories? Send it my way!

Okay, that’s it for now,

Charley