Who Is Naomi Klein? Author & Climate Justice Co-Director

Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist, author, documentary filmmaker, and associate professor and co-director of the Centre for Climate Justice at the University of British Columbia.

At Ban the Bots, we track the people and organizations fighting AI: the activists, union leaders, lawmakers, plaintiffs, researchers and founders pushing back on how AI is built and used.

She wrote the book "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" and co-authored "End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World" with Astra Taylor.

Where Naomi Klein Is Now

Naomi Klein serves as an associate professor and co-director of the Centre for Climate Justice at the University of British Columbia, according to reporting by Democracy Now.

• Current role: Associate professor and co-director of the Centre for Climate Justice
• Organization: University of British Columbia
• Known for: Award-winning journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker
• Recent news: Co-authored "End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World" and addressed the People's AI Assembly

Career and Publications

Klein is an author, documentary filmmaker, and award-winning journalist, as reported by Democracy Now. Her book "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" was published by Metropolitan Books in 2008, according to the Chicago Tribune.

In 2026, Allen Lane published Klein and Astra Taylor's book "End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World," as noted by Counterfire.

Critique of Artificial Intelligence

Klein spoke at the People's AI Assembly alongside other critics of the artificial intelligence industry, according to Democracy Now.

During the event, Klein characterized resistance to AI as resistance to oligarch power concentrated in tech companies. She also stated that the outsourcing of intelligence is the final stage following fifty years of hollowing out public functions of the state, as documented by Democracy Now.

Analysis of End Times Fascism and Policy Views

In their co-authored work, Klein and Taylor define "end times fascism" as the convergence of global forces that embrace existential threats such as war, climate change, and uncontrolled technology, according to Counterfire. They argue that end-times fascists occupy key positions in governments and corporate tech boardrooms globally, and stated that new technologies give governments an all-seeing godlike eye to monitor and judge individuals' movements.

Klein and Taylor also analyzed the success of Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign in New York, identifying patient organizing by the Democratic Socialists of America as a factor, reported Counterfire.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Taylor and Klein articulate a philosophy of "hereness" recognizing that humanity has only one suitable planet, and they advocate for public policies including wealth taxes and strong environmental measures.

Sources

• chicagotribune.com
• counterfire.org
• democracynow.org

More people pushing back on AI are mapped in our guide to who is fighting AI, and the unions, companies and governments drawing the line are tracked on Fighting Back.