The Summer of Ludd: Gen Z’s Political Rebellion Against Big Tech and AI
WIRED’s Manisha Krishnan speaks with Gowanus about the modern Luddite movement’s critique of social media addiction, AI automation, and the erosion of social fabric.
The modern Luddite movement is experiencing a renaissance, driven largely by Generation Z, who are increasingly critical of the social and psychological impacts of ubiquitous internet access. Central to this resurgence is the "Summer of Ludd," a recent festival in Brooklyn, New York, which critiques Big Tech, social media addiction, and AI automation for eroding community and social fabric. In an episode of The Big Interview podcast, WIRED senior culture editor Manisha Krishnan interviewed Gowanus, the movement’s media puppet representative, to discuss the group’s political stance against extractive technologies.
Gowanus, a puppet designed to maintain anonymity in the style of 19th-century British textile workers, emphasises that the movement is not anti-technology per se, but anti-Big Tech. The group opposes technologies that accelerate wealth inequality and atomise communities, distinguishing their stance from a simple digital detox. Instead, they advocate for alternative digital infrastructure, such as newsletters and RSS feeds, to foster genuine human connection and resist the degradation of online spaces.
The festival featured workshops on in-person interaction, including "Luddite Rizz," which focused on handling rejection and social nuance rather than relying on the transactional nature of dating apps. Participants also engaged in "Delete Day," where groups collectively deleted apps to acknowledge the difficulty of breaking reliance on these platforms. The movement argues that social media is designed to be addictive to sell data, prioritising convenience over the communal experiences that build social capital.
Critiques of AI automation and data centres were prominent, with Gowanus citing the high energy and water consumption of AI infrastructure as unsustainable. The movement highlights the disconnect between tech leaders promoting AI as the next industrial revolution and the workforce facing potential automation of entry-level roles. This sentiment was reflected in recent college commencement events where students booed speakers praising AI, signalling a broader generational pushback against the unchecked expansion of tech oligarchs.
To bypass what Gowanus terms the "enshittification" of social media, the movement encourages people to engage with long-form content and local community spaces. The interview itself was conducted under specific conditions, including a handwritten contract requesting no short-form video clips, to encourage deep engagement rather than scroll-based consumption. The group continues to organise through offline networks, such as poster campaigns and hotlines, demonstrating a commitment to building social infrastructure outside of centralized platforms.
