Brian Merchant
Brian Merchant is a technology journalist and author whose work moves from the Luddite uprising to today's AI boom. He co-edited Terraform, a speculative fiction site that launched in November 2014, and published The One Device in 2017. The Los Angeles Times technology column ran from January 2023 until layoffs in January 2024. In February 2025 he began reporting full time for Blood in the Machine, his Substack newsletter. He is currently Journalist in Residence at the AI Now Institute, where he reports on AI-generated business models.
Timeline
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2014
Editing Terraform at Vice
He and Claire L. Evans edit Terraform, a speculative fiction site that launches in November 2014.
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2017
A secret history of the iPhone
The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone comes out from Little, Brown in 2017, and the book is shortlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award.
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January 2023–January 2024
A tech column at the Times
He becomes the Los Angeles Times technology columnist in January 2023. In January 2024 he is laid off in a wave of layoffs exceeding 20% of newsroom staff.
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2023
A history of the Luddites
In 2023, Little, Brown publishes Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech, a history of the Luddite uprising.
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March 2024
A residency on AI business models
In March 2024 AI Now announces that he will join as Journalist In Residence, interrogating the business model underpinning the AI boom.
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February 2025
Full-time reporting on Substack
In February 2025 he begins reporting full time for his Substack newsletter, Blood in the Machine.
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As of October 2026
Journalist in residence at AI Now
He is Journalist in Residence at the AI Now Institute, where he reports on AI-generated business models.
Sources and credits
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