Ep 97 - AI: The New Aesthetics of Fascism w/Gareth Watkins
Episode description
“It’s embarrassing, destructive & looks like shit: AI-generated art is the perfect aesthetic form for the far right” - writes journalist Gareth Watkins (@garethwatkins.bsky.social).
In this convo we explore this dreadful intersection of AI ‘art’ & fascism.
Check out his excellent, viral piece here:
https://newsocialist.org.uk/transmissions/ai-the-new-aesthetics-of-fascism/
Find Gareth’s podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/death-sentence/id1330059162
🚨If you’d like to contribute to the fundraiser you can do that here (Ty!): https://www.gofundme.com/f/polite-conversations-podcast-get-new-equipment
Vance/Trump Ghibli-fied: https://x.com/whitehouse/status/1908898969930834427?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw
White House Ghibli filter deportation: https://x.com/whitehouse/status/1905332049021415862?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw
White House ‘deportation ASMR’ video with chained people: https://x.com/whitehouse/status/1891922058415603980?s=61&t=w7q_ejvwZ_gCFj9WV50Lqw
Trump AI Pope: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/trump-accused-of-mocking-catholics-after-posting-image-of-himself-as-pope
When Spirited Away won at the 75th Oscars in 2003, Miyazaki wasn't present because, as he explained a few years later, he was protesting the invasion of Iraq that the United States had commenced that same year. https://ew.com/why-hayao-miyazaki-didnt-accept-boy-and-the-heron-oscar-in-person-8607398#:~:text=When%20Spirited%20Away%20won%20at,had%20commenced%20that%20same%20year.
Anti-trans fencer gets $5000 cash prize for refusing to compete against trans woman
The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians
https://www.wired.com/story/delirious-violent-impossible-true-story-zizians/
Roko’s Basilisk https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko's_basilisk
Grok rants about ‘White Genocide’ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/14/elon-musk-grok-white-genocide
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