Elke Schwarz
@elkeschwarz.bsky.social
Professor of Political Theory. Technology, politics, ethics and war are my main preoccupations. Lately also the Apocalypse.
I am not even three minutes into that Axios / Karp interview and already I am slightly lost for words when this weapon system CEO describes that their software can also cover that "kind of sexy violent part of war" for commanders .... That sexy violent part of war. Honestly.
November 11, 2025 at 10:03 PM
I am not even three minutes into that Axios / Karp interview and already I am slightly lost for words when this weapon system CEO describes that their software can also cover that "kind of sexy violent part of war" for commanders .... That sexy violent part of war. Honestly.
The power of lobbying ...
November 11, 2025 at 6:22 AM
The power of lobbying ...
These two headlines tell a most dystopian story about the current state of affairs.
November 7, 2025 at 12:48 PM
These two headlines tell a most dystopian story about the current state of affairs.
Just triangulating some of the vibes in this interview ...
November 1, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Just triangulating some of the vibes in this interview ...
It's a very short story .... this is all there is on the full site at the moment
October 3, 2025 at 10:19 AM
It's a very short story .... this is all there is on the full site at the moment
Words shape visions. When the goverment shapes its words literally along the themes of US venture capital, what perspectives will be prioritised? Will these perspectives take into account the realities of political communities today, or rather prioritise the (investment) interests of a few?
September 22, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Words shape visions. When the goverment shapes its words literally along the themes of US venture capital, what perspectives will be prioritised? Will these perspectives take into account the realities of political communities today, or rather prioritise the (investment) interests of a few?
Musk and others have been valorizing 'builders' and advocating for slashing red tape for a good couple of years
September 22, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Musk and others have been valorizing 'builders' and advocating for slashing red tape for a good couple of years
The emotional blackmail of the Duolingo icon is really rather powerful
September 21, 2025 at 9:43 AM
The emotional blackmail of the Duolingo icon is really rather powerful
What do we think what we are doing? We have just welcomed our students back to uni, to an ever-more uncertain future. They are worried. When asked at a careers talk for 3rd year students how they feel about their future the most frequently used words were “terrified”, “scared”, “stressed”. 1/
September 20, 2025 at 3:13 PM
What do we think what we are doing? We have just welcomed our students back to uni, to an ever-more uncertain future. They are worried. When asked at a careers talk for 3rd year students how they feel about their future the most frequently used words were “terrified”, “scared”, “stressed”. 1/
So, if I am reading this right, the UK government announcement on the Palantir deal suggests that Palantir will invest "up to 1.5bn" in the UK (creating 350 jobs - not that many jobs really). But the Palantir X post suggests that the UK will invest "up to 1bn" in Palantir ...? 🧐
September 18, 2025 at 6:12 PM
So, if I am reading this right, the UK government announcement on the Palantir deal suggests that Palantir will invest "up to 1.5bn" in the UK (creating 350 jobs - not that many jobs really). But the Palantir X post suggests that the UK will invest "up to 1bn" in Palantir ...? 🧐
I've followed defence tech industry (war tech?) narratives for a while - renaming of the DoD as Department of War, & the pivot to some crude ideation of war, victory and warriors is a longer-standing fantasy floated by figures like Alex Karp (Palantir) and Palmer Luckey (Anduril). 1/
September 6, 2025 at 5:05 AM
I've followed defence tech industry (war tech?) narratives for a while - renaming of the DoD as Department of War, & the pivot to some crude ideation of war, victory and warriors is a longer-standing fantasy floated by figures like Alex Karp (Palantir) and Palmer Luckey (Anduril). 1/
Nothing says “pursuing peace” like a military fly over
August 16, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Nothing says “pursuing peace” like a military fly over
I am sorry to inform you that most of the trends & themes I identified in my 2018 book Death Machines have only gotten worse. I just coincidentally revisited Joanna Frew's review of the book for @dronewarsuk.bsky.social (for which I'm very grateful) which succinctly highlights some of these themes.
July 29, 2025 at 5:15 AM
I am sorry to inform you that most of the trends & themes I identified in my 2018 book Death Machines have only gotten worse. I just coincidentally revisited Joanna Frew's review of the book for @dronewarsuk.bsky.social (for which I'm very grateful) which succinctly highlights some of these themes.
I am delighted to share my latest (open access) publication, co-authored with the marvellous @carolineholmqvist.bsky.social for the Thesis Eleven special issue on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 1/ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
July 25, 2025 at 6:16 AM
I am delighted to share my latest (open access) publication, co-authored with the marvellous @carolineholmqvist.bsky.social for the Thesis Eleven special issue on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 1/ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
The way this makes sense to me is by assuming that the proposed a16z disruption of the real estate game is simultaneously a drive to build community housing for the emerging cult. I mean ... look at this proposition ... And for that, Adam Neuman is an experience cult leader-type figure
July 13, 2025 at 8:02 AM
The way this makes sense to me is by assuming that the proposed a16z disruption of the real estate game is simultaneously a drive to build community housing for the emerging cult. I mean ... look at this proposition ... And for that, Adam Neuman is an experience cult leader-type figure
Making my way through the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, which is quite heavily defence oriented throughout, this below passage stood out to me. For reasons I highlight in my pinned article such a move comes with costs, including to transparency, oversight and responsibility in the defence domain.
June 27, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Making my way through the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, which is quite heavily defence oriented throughout, this below passage stood out to me. For reasons I highlight in my pinned article such a move comes with costs, including to transparency, oversight and responsibility in the defence domain.
Yarvin curating the US Venice Biennale Pavillion... it feels like an infiltration of US tech elites (the usual names) into all walks, the US executive office, the military & the cultural, moulding collective imaginaries around a narrow & dark mindset. We need to start thinking the future otherwise.
June 26, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Yarvin curating the US Venice Biennale Pavillion... it feels like an infiltration of US tech elites (the usual names) into all walks, the US executive office, the military & the cultural, moulding collective imaginaries around a narrow & dark mindset. We need to start thinking the future otherwise.
Seems to be quite useful for prominent defence VC companies too ...
June 21, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Seems to be quite useful for prominent defence VC companies too ...
What if the xrisk logic of the AI turning us all into paperclips in all actuality is a fable about OpenAI (and other AI companies) turning us all into AI optimisers? Just a thought ... 🤷♀️
June 13, 2025 at 9:14 AM
What if the xrisk logic of the AI turning us all into paperclips in all actuality is a fable about OpenAI (and other AI companies) turning us all into AI optimisers? Just a thought ... 🤷♀️
I have indeed - here is my 2019 paper of Anders and AI, it is in a special issue which you might also find interesting (DM me if you don't have access). journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
June 9, 2025 at 9:13 AM
I have indeed - here is my 2019 paper of Anders and AI, it is in a special issue which you might also find interesting (DM me if you don't have access). journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
It feels like the UK government has been hacked in some ways. But perhaps that's a feature of the accelerated AI rollout, which seems to leave the governmental functions always in a reactionary position and any knowledge gaps will conveniently be filled with industry knowledge (aka marketing).
June 9, 2025 at 9:05 AM
It feels like the UK government has been hacked in some ways. But perhaps that's a feature of the accelerated AI rollout, which seems to leave the governmental functions always in a reactionary position and any knowledge gaps will conveniently be filled with industry knowledge (aka marketing).
Just stumbled on this from 2018. In seven years of an almost "hysterical demand" for more AI by its industry, things have gone from bad to worse for society at large. The glorious AI future - always dangled in front of us like a carrot for a donkey - remains elusive. www.lse.ac.uk/ideas/Assets...
June 9, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Just stumbled on this from 2018. In seven years of an almost "hysterical demand" for more AI by its industry, things have gone from bad to worse for society at large. The glorious AI future - always dangled in front of us like a carrot for a donkey - remains elusive. www.lse.ac.uk/ideas/Assets...
I've written another article (apologies),where I riff on some points @ncrenic.bsky.social & I make elsewhere, but framed around Günther Anders' insights that the roots of 'the monstrous' mass violence in the 1930s & 40s may persist in our technological condition today carrier-bag.net/eichmanns-in...
June 8, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I've written another article (apologies),where I riff on some points @ncrenic.bsky.social & I make elsewhere, but framed around Günther Anders' insights that the roots of 'the monstrous' mass violence in the 1930s & 40s may persist in our technological condition today carrier-bag.net/eichmanns-in...