Do you remember Melania Trump walking down a red carpet with an AI-powered robot by her side? If you could paint a picture of technological dystopia, it would be that.
That one chilling moment captures the heart of the AI propaganda machine, writes Amirio Freeman for this issue of Peace & Riot.
They sell us “a vision of innovation, techno-optimism, and American competitive advantage, a vision of a future with robot teachers, credible self-diagnosis, and a resolved climate crisis.”
But — as Freeman and Jai Dulani, Senior Research Analyst at MediaJustice share — that vision is just hype.
Freeman and Dulani expose who’s really behind the narratives we’re being sold about AI and dissect the lies we’re told to believe — such as claims that AI’s energy reduction benefits, 74% of which are unproven.
The reality is that the struggle for clean air, a reliable water supply, and a neighborhood not littered with data centers goes beyond the courts and the streets. It is also a narrative battle.
The Latest at Counterstream

Last chance to RSVP!
There are still spots left for our special panel featuring Peace & Riot contributors Julia Luz Betancourt and Amirio Freeman. Join them on May 8 in Brooklyn, New York for a discussion on AI, attention activism, and environmental justice.
Hosted by the School of Radical Attention and Counterstream.
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Lakota youth halt drilling operations at Pe’ Sla
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More than 90% of data centers in the U.S. get most of the water used for cooling from municipal systems, researchers estimate. That leaves little for the people who live there. Read more
Monterey Park is the first city in California to enact a permanent citywide ban on data centers
The ban on data centers within the city’s jurisdiction follows months of organizing from neighbors and activists who outsmarted developers and lobbyists. Read more
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