Show Notes
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 2025 No Camera. No Crew. Just AI | Toyota Tundra Commercial Being a Luddite Is Fun Again -- Janus Rose,Jul 27, 2026, 404 New 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.
More from The Data Fix
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.