What you missed in July 2025
DOGE 2.0, China the electro-state, and the environmental harms of rare earths
I feel like I’m always recommending articles about China in the monthly roundup lately, and for good reason. We hear plenty about the United States and its tech industry, and the perspectives of people supporting their positions on who should dominate in global technology. But I feel like we too rarely get honest, accurate assessments of Chinese capacity and industry that aren’t tinged with a pro-US slant, which is why I feel good analysis on China is worth sharing when I find it.
To that end, the top 3 stories this week are looking at the continued impacts of DOGE, but also the way Chinese tech investment is altering development patterns and how its dominance of certain mineral supply chains has real social and environmental consequences that we should be aware of. But there’s plenty more besides that on labour issues and broader tech stories too!
Beyond the roundup, I’m still doing regularly interviewing experts on Tech Won’t Save Us on issues like the video game industry’s troubles, the possibilities of decomputing, and how the US wields technology as a form of power in the Middle East. I haven’t been doing a ton of interviews beside that lately because I’m busy writing a book.
And with that, I should probably get back to it!
— Paris
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Disconnect to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.