Stop the Machines: The Rise of Anti-Technology Extremism [Paperback]

As we stand on the cusp of an AI revolution, will we see the rise of a new anti-technology extremism that threatens to dismantle the gains of modern civilization?

In the first exploration of this phenomenon, Mauro Lubrano traces the origins and evolution of anti-technology violence across the globe. He identifies three main groups fuelling such resistance: insurrectionary anarchists, eco-extremists, and eco-fascists. Exploring the justifications that underlie the opposition to technology and the strategies employed to stop the machines, he shows how anti-tech extremism has emerged as a reaction to the Anthropocene  an attempt to undo the epoch of human domination. The intellectual flexibility of this ideology lends itself to different causes, from the class struggle against the techno-elites to the defence of nature and white supremacy. With fears about the risks of artificial intelligence mounting and the world beset by serious polycrises, what is currently a fragmented, fringe phenomenon holds the potential for dramatic escalation.

Mauro Lubrano's engaging study argues anti-tech movements will drive future political violence. With AI-driven changes touching every workplace, he also wisely reminds us of earlier technological revolutions and how to mitigate their effects.?A highly original and relevant book.
Audrey Cronin, Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology

Anti-technology extremism has a long, tangledlCR