Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
@ghostdoc2026.bsky.social
The untold origins of artificial intelligence lie not in machines but in power. We're revealing the fantasies behind the hype that got us here, and where we go next. Mandatory viewing for anyone thinking about or using AI. notaidoc.com
Pinned
We made a starter pack of the cast and crew behind Ghost in the Machine! Follow along here for the latest from the technologists, theories, researchers, filmmakers, and so much more behind this documentary.
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
don’t let chatgpt in the shire
January 30, 2026 at 2:30 AM
don’t let chatgpt in the shire
And sorry, just to clarify! We have more screenings with in-person Q&As at Sundance, as well as online screenings this week -- this is just our final forum/panel event.
Our final Sundance event is a FREE, VIRTUAL panel on a topic that we don't talk nearly enough about: the unseen labor costs of the AI industry.
More info below but here's the sign-up link, it's tomorrow morning!
More info below but here's the sign-up link, it's tomorrow morning!
Tackling the Ethics of AI Through the Making of GHOST IN THE MACHINE: Part 2
collab.sundance.org
January 30, 2026 at 3:19 AM
And sorry, just to clarify! We have more screenings with in-person Q&As at Sundance, as well as online screenings this week -- this is just our final forum/panel event.
Our final Sundance event is a FREE, VIRTUAL panel on a topic that we don't talk nearly enough about: the unseen labor costs of the AI industry.
More info below but here's the sign-up link, it's tomorrow morning!
More info below but here's the sign-up link, it's tomorrow morning!
Tackling the Ethics of AI Through the Making of GHOST IN THE MACHINE: Part 2
collab.sundance.org
January 30, 2026 at 2:37 AM
Our final Sundance event is a FREE, VIRTUAL panel on a topic that we don't talk nearly enough about: the unseen labor costs of the AI industry.
More info below but here's the sign-up link, it's tomorrow morning!
More info below but here's the sign-up link, it's tomorrow morning!
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TODAY and TOMORROW - Alix is co-hosting two virtual conversations with @valerieveatch.bsky.social about the making of @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social.
Tackling the Ethics of AI Through the Making of GHOST IN THE MACHINE: Part 1
collab.sundance.org
January 29, 2026 at 9:08 PM
TODAY and TOMORROW - Alix is co-hosting two virtual conversations with @valerieveatch.bsky.social about the making of @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social.
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
Wife: AI is Ivermectin. Can't do what it promises to do and awful people sell you on it for other uses and at the end of the day you're still buying Ivermectin.
January 21, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Wife: AI is Ivermectin. Can't do what it promises to do and awful people sell you on it for other uses and at the end of the day you're still buying Ivermectin.
Introducing: the Ghosties Book Club!
Want to see what we consulted as we researched and made this film? Need a chill winter break read? Here's a compilation of all the books our contributors have written, all in one place.
notaidoc.com/bookclub
Want to see what we consulted as we researched and made this film? Need a chill winter break read? Here's a compilation of all the books our contributors have written, all in one place.
notaidoc.com/bookclub
January 29, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Introducing: the Ghosties Book Club!
Want to see what we consulted as we researched and made this film? Need a chill winter break read? Here's a compilation of all the books our contributors have written, all in one place.
notaidoc.com/bookclub
Want to see what we consulted as we researched and made this film? Need a chill winter break read? Here's a compilation of all the books our contributors have written, all in one place.
notaidoc.com/bookclub
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“Forced adoption.”
Remember: As citizens we always have agency and we can always opt out of this AI bullshit. They might make it harder and more of a pain in the ass but we always have the power.
Remember: As citizens we always have agency and we can always opt out of this AI bullshit. They might make it harder and more of a pain in the ass but we always have the power.
Microsoft and Blackrock have "have largely given up on organic adoption [of AI] by consumers. They have moved on to a new dream of forced adoption mandated by government and managerial coercion."
Fascinating piece here on what Davos can teach us about the AI industry by @mattseybold.bsky.social
Fascinating piece here on what Davos can teach us about the AI industry by @mattseybold.bsky.social
"You have to use it. You have to trust it.": Forced Adoption of AI is The Subtext of Davos
Authoritarianism is the AI Bailout; But If AI Doesn't Need a Bailout, Does it Need Authoritarianism?
theamericanvandal.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 1:40 PM
“Forced adoption.”
Remember: As citizens we always have agency and we can always opt out of this AI bullshit. They might make it harder and more of a pain in the ass but we always have the power.
Remember: As citizens we always have agency and we can always opt out of this AI bullshit. They might make it harder and more of a pain in the ass but we always have the power.
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
Ghost in the Machine @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social premiered at Sundance this week. It's an excellent and needed narrative shift telling the story of AI through a lens of history and power.
I saw it pre release - I'm in it for only like 10 secs but still really excited!
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
I saw it pre release - I'm in it for only like 10 secs but still really excited!
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
'Ghost in the Machine' Review: Documentary Delivers a Searing Takedown of AI, Elon Musk and Techno-Fascism
'Ghost in the Machine' Sundance review: documentary delivers a searing takedown of AI, Elon Musk and Techno-Fascism
www.thewrap.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:53 AM
Ghost in the Machine @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social premiered at Sundance this week. It's an excellent and needed narrative shift telling the story of AI through a lens of history and power.
I saw it pre release - I'm in it for only like 10 secs but still really excited!
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
I saw it pre release - I'm in it for only like 10 secs but still really excited!
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
"And when the first person [told me this], that machine learning and AI are actually rooted in eugenics, I was like, ‘OK, sure,’ and ended the Zoom call. And then I started researching it, shockingly, it’s true…"
Pivot to video with us! @valerieveatch.bsky.social sat down with the IndieWire studio:
Pivot to video with us! @valerieveatch.bsky.social sat down with the IndieWire studio:
Mind-Bending Sundance Doc ‘Ghost in the Machine’ Asks the Hard Questions About AI’s Origins and Potential Misuses
Valerie Veatch talks her AI documentary 'Ghost in the Machine' at the IndieWire Sundance Studio.
www.indiewire.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:42 AM
"And when the first person [told me this], that machine learning and AI are actually rooted in eugenics, I was like, ‘OK, sure,’ and ended the Zoom call. And then I started researching it, shockingly, it’s true…"
Pivot to video with us! @valerieveatch.bsky.social sat down with the IndieWire studio:
Pivot to video with us! @valerieveatch.bsky.social sat down with the IndieWire studio:
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
i'm in this and i saw the rough cut, it's a fuckin great film and you should watch it when it's on general release
cc @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
cc @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
'Ghost in the Machine' Review: Documentary Delivers a Searing Takedown of AI, Elon Musk and Techno-Fascism
'Ghost in the Machine' Sundance review: documentary delivers a searing takedown of AI, Elon Musk and Techno-Fascism
www.thewrap.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:10 AM
i'm in this and i saw the rough cut, it's a fuckin great film and you should watch it when it's on general release
cc @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
cc @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
I love this book and widely recommend it, especially to those engaged in challenging AI data centers.
January 28, 2026 at 7:41 PM
I love this book and widely recommend it, especially to those engaged in challenging AI data centers.
"The particular technology getting sold, the particular things you're told to be afraid of, those change. But the mechanisms of hype are the same." - @emilymbender.bsky.social at last night's book event along with @adambecker.bsky.social @ezekieldixonroman.bsky.social & @valerieveatch.bsky.social
January 28, 2026 at 4:51 PM
"The particular technology getting sold, the particular things you're told to be afraid of, those change. But the mechanisms of hype are the same." - @emilymbender.bsky.social at last night's book event along with @adambecker.bsky.social @ezekieldixonroman.bsky.social & @valerieveatch.bsky.social
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This is a real questionnaire from a US company about what to do with employees who resist adopting "AI". @olivia.science @irisvanrooij.bsky.social @bcmerchant.bsky.social @prietschka.bsky.social
The "correct" answer is the 3rd option.
The "correct" answer is the 3rd option.
January 27, 2026 at 5:10 PM
This is a real questionnaire from a US company about what to do with employees who resist adopting "AI". @olivia.science @irisvanrooij.bsky.social @bcmerchant.bsky.social @prietschka.bsky.social
The "correct" answer is the 3rd option.
The "correct" answer is the 3rd option.
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
Book signing at Sundance with @adambecker.bsky.social, @emilybender.bsky.social, and @ezekieldixonroman.bsky.social
January 27, 2026 at 10:36 PM
Book signing at Sundance with @adambecker.bsky.social, @emilybender.bsky.social, and @ezekieldixonroman.bsky.social
Also, a banger review from @eclectichutch.bsky.social at @thewrap.com. "If there is one documentary with the power to burst the AI bubble, it’s this one."
'Ghost in the Machine' Review: Documentary Delivers a Searing Takedown of AI, Elon Musk and Techno-Fascism
'Ghost in the Machine' Sundance review: documentary delivers a searing takedown of AI, Elon Musk and Techno-Fascism
www.thewrap.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Also, a banger review from @eclectichutch.bsky.social at @thewrap.com. "If there is one documentary with the power to burst the AI bubble, it’s this one."
"...proposes a different possibility altogether: that “AI,” if you can even call it that, is just the latest in a long line of grift-y attempts by powerful, exclusionary white guys to remake the whole world in their own image."
Check out the full Filmmaker Mag interview with Valerie here:
Check out the full Filmmaker Mag interview with Valerie here:
“We Will Be Passing Out Little NOT AI Buttons to Our Audiences”: Valerie Veatch on Her Sundance-premiering Ghost in the Machine
Until now, the Silicon Valley hype cycle has defined the terms of the artificial-intelligence debate, with advocates predicting universal affluence and the end of all diseases while critics worry that...
filmmakermagazine.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:20 PM
"...proposes a different possibility altogether: that “AI,” if you can even call it that, is just the latest in a long line of grift-y attempts by powerful, exclusionary white guys to remake the whole world in their own image."
Check out the full Filmmaker Mag interview with Valerie here:
Check out the full Filmmaker Mag interview with Valerie here:
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
The film is of this moment because it situates the narrative being pushed by the AI bros in its both its historical (see upthread) and present context -- the latter being coverage of environmental damage and the exploitative labor practices behind "AI".
>>
>>
January 27, 2026 at 2:14 PM
The film is of this moment because it situates the narrative being pushed by the AI bros in its both its historical (see upthread) and present context -- the latter being coverage of environmental damage and the exploitative labor practices behind "AI".
>>
>>
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
Really enjoyed the @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social premiere today! A must-watch, as soon as you get the chance.
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
'Ghost in the Machine' Review: Documentary Delivers a Searing Takedown of AI, Elon Musk and Techno-Fascism
'Ghost in the Machine' Sundance review: documentary delivers a searing takedown of AI, Elon Musk and Techno-Fascism
www.thewrap.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:09 AM
Really enjoyed the @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social premiere today! A must-watch, as soon as you get the chance.
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
www.thewrap.com/creative-con...
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
The AI evangelists want us all to conveniently forget that they were all telling us we had to buy bored apes or we would be left out of the Economy Of The Future four years ago.
January 25, 2026 at 5:23 PM
The AI evangelists want us all to conveniently forget that they were all telling us we had to buy bored apes or we would be left out of the Economy Of The Future four years ago.
"This is not a story about machines. This is a story about power. There is no such thing as an inevitable future." Powerful words from @valerieveatch.bsky.social at today's @sundance.org Beyond Film panel, "Beyond the Hype: A Documentary Deep Dive into AI."
January 26, 2026 at 7:01 PM
"This is not a story about machines. This is a story about power. There is no such thing as an inevitable future." Powerful words from @valerieveatch.bsky.social at today's @sundance.org Beyond Film panel, "Beyond the Hype: A Documentary Deep Dive into AI."
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Man this ad is hilarious. The ad for ChatGPT is that it’s a way to give you a vague way to not give up on running? This is why you assholes need $100 billion? This is why you owe Oracle $300 billion?
youtu.be/cjveRUfE7dc?...
youtu.be/cjveRUfE7dc?...
January 25, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Man this ad is hilarious. The ad for ChatGPT is that it’s a way to give you a vague way to not give up on running? This is why you assholes need $100 billion? This is why you owe Oracle $300 billion?
youtu.be/cjveRUfE7dc?...
youtu.be/cjveRUfE7dc?...
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This Starter Pack has some great resources, and even includes state-by-state accounts from various news orgs and journalists.
go.bsky.app/8cn1XfT
go.bsky.app/8cn1XfT
January 24, 2026 at 12:26 AM
This Starter Pack has some great resources, and even includes state-by-state accounts from various news orgs and journalists.
go.bsky.app/8cn1XfT
go.bsky.app/8cn1XfT
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out.
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
January 22, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Last term I tried an experiment: I walked into my Tech and Design Ethics class, admitted that I had *no idea* what to do about ChatGPT - so I would let them figure it out.
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
As in: their first project was to decide and write the ChatGPT policy for the class.
Here's what happened:
Reposted by Ghost in the Machine: world premiere era
Happy first day of the Sundance Festival to all who celebrate! Alix is moderating two conversations about two different AI documentaries at Sundance:
January 22, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Happy first day of the Sundance Festival to all who celebrate! Alix is moderating two conversations about two different AI documentaries at Sundance:
We’re tackling the big issues surrounding AI with @sundance.org's Story Forum! Join us and a whole host of special guests as we deep-dive into the making of GHOST IN THE MACHINE & what we learned about AI’s implications for race, gender, data, labor, & the climate. Sign up (free, virtual) here:
Tackling the Ethics of AI through the Making of GHOST IN THE MACHINE with Valerie Veatch
collab.sundance.org
January 22, 2026 at 7:07 PM
We’re tackling the big issues surrounding AI with @sundance.org's Story Forum! Join us and a whole host of special guests as we deep-dive into the making of GHOST IN THE MACHINE & what we learned about AI’s implications for race, gender, data, labor, & the climate. Sign up (free, virtual) here: