A very human tech doc, uncovers the real costs of the platform economy through the lives of workers from around the world for companies including Uber, Amazon and Deliveroo. From delivering food and driving ride shares to tagging images for AI, millions of people around the world are finding work task by task online. The gig economy is worth over 5 trillion USD globally, and growing. And yet the stories of the workers behind this tech revolution have gone largely neglected. Who are the people in this shadow workforce? It brings their stories into the light. Lured by the promise of flexible work hours, independence, and control over time and money, workers from around the world have found a very different reality. Work conditions are often dangerous, pay often changes without notice, and workers can effectively be fired through deactivation or a bad rating. Through an engaging global cast of characters, it reveals how the magic of technology we are being sold might not be magic at all.
Jizai (2024)
In a laboratory, a child is the object of a mysterious experiment. Aided by a robotic prosthesis – or is it the other way round? – the child receives sense data from our world. What does an AI need to feed on to push the limits of human abilities?
A Terrible Beauty (2024)
What makes a body human? This science-fiction fable shot in China foreshows the rise of AI. Time behaves fluidly as we travel into the near future in the company of an unusual pair: Blue and her friend, a mannequin named Lucy.
Hollywood's World of Flesh (1963)
Hilariously bogus "documentary on the film capital of the world" inspired by the Italian mondo movie genre. A look at adult book stores, grindhouses, strip joints, "Figure Model Photography Studios" and midnight pool parties. This is more cynical sexploitation from director Lee Frost and producer Bob Cresse, the loveable hucksters.
Master of the Universe (2013)
He was one of Germany's leading investment experts with an income of several million Euros per day. Now, he sits on one of the upper floors of an empty bank building in the middle of Frankfurt, overlooking a skyline of glass and steel. And talks. In an extended mix of a monologue and an in-depth interview, which is as frightening as it is fascinating, he shares his inside knowledge from a megalomaniac parallel world where illusions are the market's hardest currency. Marc Bauder's 'Master of the Universe' is based on meticulous research and provides us with geniune insight into the notoriously secretive and self-protective 'universe' of which our nameless protagonist experiences himself a master. Where other films on the financial meltdown have focused on the epic nature of larger-than-life business, Bauder probes the mentality that made it possible in the first place. A tense drama where psychology meets finance - two things that are more closely linked than you would like to believe.
Robert Newman's History of Oil (2006)
Stand-up comedian Robert Newman gets to grips with the wars and politics of the last hundred years, from WWI through to the 2003 invasion of Iraq; but rather than adhering to the history we were fed at school, this show places oil centre stage as the cause of all commotion. This innovative history programme is based around Robert Newman's stand-up act and supported by resourceful archive sequences and stills with satirical impersonations of historical figures from Mayan priests to Archduke Ferdinand.
The Divide (2015)
The Divide tells the story of 7 individuals striving for a better life in modern day US and UK - where the top 0.1% owns as much wealth as the bottom 90%. By plotting these tales together, we uncover how virtually every aspect of our lives is controlled by one factor: the size of the gap between rich and poor.The film is inspired by "The Spirit Level" by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.
The Monopoly on Violence (2020)
This is a story of the violence and coercion that underlies our modern societies. Most of the time, our interactions are peaceful and consensual, but there is a large notable exception. The state maintains its power and ability to create law by the constant threat of force. It prohibits competition to its authority, and in this sense, represents a monopoly.
Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)
Michael Moore comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world).
Who’s Behind the Wall? (1977)
The near future. A fantastic experiment using the test of the mathematician Alan Turing, in which an examiner, a human, and a robot take part. During the test, the examiner must determine who is behind the wall: a person or a thinking machine. The experiment is conducted with one goal: to find out whether a machine can think.
Freedom of Choice: How the Government Controls What You Consume (NaN)
Life is about choice. What we eat, what we read, who we elect; every day we make choices that determine how we want to live. But what if these choices are just an illusion? In an era where regulations and red tape rule every industry, where lobby groups and big businesses wield more influence than ever before, our daily choices have become increasingly limited. And with all our options so deliberately handpicked, are we really making a choice at all? Freedom From Choice examines the current state of life and personal choice today. Experts from many different fields offer a frank and startling look at the hidden limitations in our daily lives. Focusing on key areas such as food, medicine, finance, and media, Freedom From Choice provides viewers with a glimpse at the myriad of ways their lives are being dictated and tells us who stands to gain.
The Corporation (2003)
Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.
Roger & Me (1989)
A documentary about the closure of General Motors' plant at Flint, Michigan, which resulted in the loss of 30,000 jobs. Details the attempts of filmmaker Michael Moore to get an interview with GM CEO Roger Smith.
Mission Congo (2013)
A documentary that examines whether a charity organized by Pat Robertson to aid Rwandan genocide refugees was a front for diamond mining.
Hyperland (1990)
This made-for-TV documentary introduces the layperson to concepts and technologies that were emerging in computer interface design in the late 1980s and early 1990s: hypertext, multimedia, virtual assistants, interactive video, 3D animation, and virtual reality.
Hank: 5 Years from the Brink (2013)
For three weeks in September 2008, one person was charged with preventing the collapse of the global economy. No one understood the financial markets better than Hank Paulson, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs. In Hank: Five Years from the Brink, Paulson tells the complete story of how he persuaded banks, Congress and presidential candidates to sign off on nearly $1 trillion in bailouts - even as he found the behavior that led to the crisis, and the bailouts themselves, morally reprehensible. Directed by Academy Award nominee Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost Trilogy, Some Kind of Monster), the film features Paulson, and his wife of 40 years, Wendy. it's a riveting portrait of leadership under unimaginable pressure - and a marriage under unfathomable circumstances.
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
The Thinking Game (2025)
Chronicles the extraordinary life of visionary scientist Demis Hassabis and his relentless quest to solve the enigma of artificial general intelligence.
AI's sacrifices (2025)
Magical, autonomous, all-powerful… Artificial intelligences feed our dreams as well as our nightmares. But while tech giants promise the advent of a new humanity, the reality of their production remains totally hidden. While data centers are concreting landscapes and drying up rivers, millions of workers around the world are preparing the billions of data that will feed the voracious algorithms of Big Tech, at the cost of their mental and emotional health. They are hidden in the belly of AI. Could they be the collateral damage of the ideology of “Longtermism” that has been brewing in Silicon Valley for several years?
Silicon Valley Goes to Space (2013)
Discover how the big, bold ideas of Silicon Valley are helping launch a new era of private space exploration in this half-hour KQED Science documentary. From space tourism to mining the moon to companies ferrying NASA astronauts into space, a new wave of commercialization is shaking up the $300-billion global space industry. Meet a new generation of entrepreneurs, sprung from the high-tech culture of Silicon Valley, who are venturing into the new "wild west" of space exploration in search of their space gold. But are there new risks when space is no longer the exclusive domain of big governments?