# Brian Merchant

> Brian Merchant is a Los Angeles-based journalist, author, and newsletter writer who covers the collision between technology, labor, and power. He is best known for his 2023 book 'Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech' — a critically acclaimed history of the Luddites that Wired called 'the most important book to read about the AI boom' — and for his national bestseller 'The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone' (2017). His Substack newsletter, also called Blood in the Machine, has grown to 39,000+ subscribers and is dedicated to reporting on AI, automation, and the workers bearing the brunt of Silicon Valley's ambitions. In 2024, he became the first technology journalist admitted to Omidyar Network's Reporters in Residence program and joined the AI Now Institute as Journalist in Residence.

- **Role:** Independent Journalist & Newsletter Writer at Blood in the Machine; Journalist in Residence at AI Now Institute
- **Organizations:** Blood in the Machine (Substack), AI Now Institute, Omidyar Network (former fellow)
- **From:** Sacramento, California, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Philosophy (background), University of California, Santa Barbara
- **Known for:** National bestselling author with 'The One Device' (2017), shortlisted for FT Business Book of the Year, 'Blood in the Machine' (2023) named best book of year by The New Yorker, Wired, and Financial Times; longlisted for FT Business Book of the Year, Wired called 'Blood in the Machine' 'the most important book to read about the AI boom'

## Career timeline

- **2010s (early)** — Freelance tech & environment reporter for The Guardian, Slate, Wired, and others
- **2012-2022** — Senior Editor at Motherboard/VICE; co-founded TERRAFORM speculative fiction site
- **2014** — Co-founded TERRAFORM with Claire L. Evans (singer of Grammy-nominated pop group YACHT)
- **2017** — Published 'The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone' - national bestseller, shortlisted for FT Business Book of the Year
- **2019** — Created 'Automaton' investigative project at Gizmodo covering AI and workforce impact
- **2020** — Published Harper's Magazine cover story 'Click Here to Kill' on dark web hitman markets
- **2022** — Launched Blood in the Machine newsletter on Substack (March 17, 2022)
- **2022** — Co-edited 'Terraform: Watch/Worlds/Burn' anthology with Claire L. Evans (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
- **2023** — Published 'Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech' - named best book of year by The New Yorker, Wired, Financial Times
- **2023-2024** — Technology Columnist in Business section at Los Angeles Times
- **2024** — Became first technology journalist admitted to Omidyar Network's Reporters in Residence program
- **2024** — Joined AI Now Institute as Journalist in Residence
- **2025 (February)** — Went fully independent, running Blood in the Machine newsletter full-time
- **2025** — Newsletter grew to 39,000+ subscribers; released 'Artificial Power: 2025 Landscape Report' with AI Now Institute

## Achievements

- National bestselling author with 'The One Device' (2017), shortlisted for FT Business Book of the Year
- 'Blood in the Machine' (2023) named best book of year by The New Yorker, Wired, and Financial Times; longlisted for FT Business Book of the Year
- Wired called 'Blood in the Machine' 'the most important book to read about the AI boom'
- First technology journalist admitted to Omidyar Network's Reporters in Residence program
- 'The One Device' translated into a dozen languages and optioned for a TV limited series by Echo Lake Entertainment
- Blood in the Machine newsletter grew to 39,000+ subscribers
- Reporting on Amazon's oil partnerships prompted 4,000+ Amazon employees to petition Jeff Bezos demanding climate action
- Co-founded TERRAFORM (2014), pioneering speculative fiction at a tech publication
- Created 'Automaton' investigative project at Gizmodo in 2019, pioneering coverage of automation and workforce
- Harper's Magazine cover story in January 2020

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Covering AI-related stories including Wikipedia's ban on AI-generated content and Bernie Sanders/AOC's proposed moratorium on data center construction
- **2025-10** — Reflected on first half-year of independent publishing; newsletter thriving with thousands of paid subscribers
- **2025-07** — Published 'Trump's AI Action Plan Is a Blueprint for Dystopia' analyzing the White House 28-page AI Action Plan
- **2025-06** — Published major investigative piece 'The AI Jobs Crisis Is Here, Now' documenting real AI-related layoffs across sectors
- **2025-02** — Went fully independent, running Blood in the Machine newsletter full-time after Omidyar and AI Now fellowships
- **2024-12** — Released AI Now report investigating AGI as a business narrative tool, examining OpenAI's early days
- **2024-04** — Joined Omidyar Network as first technology journalist in Reporters in Residence program

## Links

- Website: https://brianmerchant.org
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-merchant-4b323b2b/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/bcmerchant

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brian-merchant
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-27