How the US Weaponizes Tech in the Middle East w/ Laleh Khalili

Tech Won't Save Us

Paris Marx is joined by Laleh Khalili to discuss how the United States uses its control of key technologies to shift global power dynamics, and how that specifically plays out in the Middle East.
Laleh Khalili is Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and author of the forthcoming book Extractive Capitalism.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.
The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.
Also mentioned in this episode:

• Laleh mentions Iran’s accusations towards Meta regarding WhatsApp.
• Tech executives are joining the US army.
• Laleh mentioned The Global Interior by Megan Black.
• Several years ago, Israel used an AI-assisted gun to kill an Iranian nuclear scientist.

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Chapters

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. The unequal distribution of nuclear technology (00:03:27)

3. Iran's place in global nuclear dynamics (00:19:04)

4. US control over global military tech (00:21:01)

5. Military AI and surveillance technologies (00:24:35)

6. Exploitation of land and labour (00:31:17)

7. US imperialism (00:35:46)

8. Military tech is becoming more automated and easier to steal (00:42:31)

9. Israel's place in US geopolitics (00:45:47)

10. Outro (00:52:42)