It seems like Marc Andreessen had a lot of free time this week, as the VC wrapped up his entire pro-tech worldview in a massive tome, the Techno-Optimist Manifesto. Andreessen claims “technology is the glory of human ambition and achievement, the spearhead of progress, and the realization of our potential,” and he goes on to vilify anyone who dares to step in the way of “progress.” To break down this document, we’re joined by tech critic Paris Marx, host of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast, and the author of the Disconnect newsletter, as well as the book Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong About the Future of Transportation.

Also, Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham discusses why he loves Spider-Man 2 on the PlayStation 5, and we try to make sense of Apple’s new $ 79 Pencil.

Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!

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Topics

• Nate Ingraham’s Spider-Man 2 review: The rare game that’s both bigger and better – 0:55

• We break down Mark Andreessen’s dangerously optimistic manifesto on AI – 11:39

• Microsoft now officially owns Activision/Blizzard – 35:44

• X (fka Twitter) tests $ 1 “Not a bot” program for new users – 38:53

• There’s a new, cheaper Apple Pencil with USB-C but what generation is it? – 41:03

• YouTube debuts ‘news hub’ to direct users to reliable sources – 46:46

• Working on – 51:20

• Pop culture picks – 52:20

Credits
Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Nathan Ingraham
Guest: Paris Marx
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-podcast-techno-optimist-manifesto-123056589.html?src=rss

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics