Edward Ongweso Jr

Amherst, New York

Finance Editor at Logic(s)

co-host - @machinekillspod // senior researcher - @SecurityContext // Luddite & decel & “like a terrorist attacking an innocent family” // rep @ianbonaparte

Articles

AI, indulgences, and the false promise of salvation

1 week ago | thetechbubble.substack.com | Edward Ongweso Jr

Welcome to The Tech Bubble. This week, another addition to the artificial intelligence series (this time playing around with Martin Luther’s criticisms of indulgences to revisit earlier arguments about AI)My series of essays on Artificial Intelligence thus far:The Tech Bubble is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Can We Remake Finance?

1 month ago | dissentmagazine.org | Fred Block |Edward Ongweso Jr |Adam Tooze |Atossa Araxia Abrahamian

Can We Remake Finance? We have witnessed the destructive effects of financialization. Can the millions held in bank deposits, corporate equities, and bonds be used instead to provide for society’s most pressing needs? &squarf; Spring 2025 Democracy in Default: Finance and the Rise of Neoliberalism in Americaby Brian JudgeColumbia University Press, 2024, 352 pp. The Master’s Tools: How Finance Wrecked Democracy (and a Radical Plan to Rebuild It)by Michael A. McCarthyVerso Books, 2025, 272 pp.
DNA's real value: advertising, authoritarianism, apartheid

2 months ago | thetechbubble.substack.com | Edward Ongweso Jr

Hey everyone, this week’s roundup got a little long so I’m breaking it up. Today’s essay is partly a primer on 23andMe and partly an argument the real value of popularizing the idea that “genetic data is valuable” traces back to advancing reactionary projects eager for apartheid and desperate to purge capitalism of recent civilizing reforms stretching back to the New Deal.
Does OpenAI's latest marketing stunt matter?

2 months ago | thetechbubble.substack.com | Edward Ongweso Jr

At the end of the day, OpenAI’s latest viral marketing stunt—a ChatGPT 4o update that allows users to generate images, including ones in a style that barely resemble’s that of animation company Studio Ghibli—is ultimately a distraction. Let me explain. Yes, this stuff is an “insult to art itself” as Brian Merchant points out in his invocation of Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki’s earlier comments on early AI art tools (“I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself”).
Uber's Bastards II

2 months ago | thetechbubble.substack.com | Edward Ongweso Jr

Hello everyone! Today we are going to talk about my favorite subject: the impact of Uber and its bastard spawn. Last time we did this, we talked about the (im)moral economy of on-demand labor platforms and their transformation of care work via A Roosevelt Institute report by Katie J. Wells and Funda Ustek Spilda.
The Trans Cult Who Believes AI Will Either Save Us-or Kill Us All

2 months ago | thenation.com | Grace Byron |Edward Ongweso Jr

March 13, 2025 The Trans Cult Who Believes AI Will Either Save Us—or Kill Us AllWhat the Zizians, a trans vegan cult allegedly behind multiple murders, can teach us about radicalization and our tech-addled politics. Ad Policy The Zizians believe artificial intelligence will rule over humanity—but it could either be benevolent or evil. They believe their job is to ensure it’s the former.
A dance with death, science fiction I won't describe, a weird Welsh bookseller, techo-fascism, and a lot of jazz

2 months ago | thetechbubble.substack.com | Edward Ongweso Jr

Welcome, valued Consumer, to the Tech Bubble Dispatch #4! This week’s roundup is a short one as I’m trying to focus on finishing up the second half of my Silicon Valley Consensus essay. If you like my work and want to support me, consider becoming a paid subscriber for $7 a month (the price of a dozen eggs if you’re lucky) or $70 a year (the price of a few hardcover books you won’t read)! If you are a bit more well-off, take inspiration from Engels and become a Tech Bubble financier.
The Silicon Valley Consensus & AI Capex (Part 1)

Mar 3, 2025 | thetechbubble.substack.com | Edward Ongweso Jr

Welcome back! First off, we hit 5,100 subscribers despite the episodic publishing schedule! Bear with me as I ramp it up, but thanks for joining and a special thanks to those of you who’ve become paid subscribers. To celebrate, there is a 25 percent sale for new paid subscriptions! Today’s essay is (one half of) Part Three of my series on “artificial intelligence” and the second half will be out by Friday. The Tech Bubble is a reader-supported publication on the political economy of technology.
Uber's Bastards

Jan 29, 2025 | thetechbubble.substack.com | Edward Ongweso Jr

Hello everyone, I’ll keep this bit short this time! Thanks for all the emails with stories about your own experiences in Vegas, with gambling addiction, and with CES in response to my last piece, I read them all and responded to most except the ones pitching me Guaranteed Parlays That Will Hit! Thanks also for subscribing, we’ve jumped a bit and are just shy of 4,400 subscribers.
Trapped in the Maw of a Stillborn God (Pt. 1)

Jan 20, 2025 | thetechbubble.substack.com | Edward Ongweso Jr

I am back from Las Vegas, my second visit there but first time going to CES—an annual consumer electronics trade show (CES is NOT short for Consumer Electronics Show, or anything really) where companies and countries tease glimpses of the future of consumer electronics. It may be hard to believe, but my foray into CES suggests the tech sector is getting even more removed from reality than its temporary host city.