Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 fans! We're moving our livestream to Friday. In the meantime, @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her) and I are soooo close to a major download milestone! Share and subscribe to the pod and your AI skeptical friends.
We're seeing sales creep up for The AI Con (thecon.ai) and for that, we're really thankful! Let us know if you've put it on a syllabus, or shared with your AI skeptic friends who are wondering what all this mess is all about. @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her)
Tina Park, Sophie Song, and I wrote about Trump's AI Action Plan, the narrative of "upskilling" on both the right and left, and how the myth of AI automation is forcing actual workers to do more with less.
"In many ways, Bender and Hanna successfully demonstrate that AI is a con. It fails at productivity and intelligence, while the hype launders a series of transformations that harm workers, exacerbate inequality and damage the environment." Nice write-up of The AI Con by Luke Munn in The Conversation. @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her)
If you're at #FACCT2025 today, check out our AI Workers' Inquiry, where we'll have a stellar panel of workers organizing against AI and host a participatory session. You can also participate online!
Our conversation with @Karen Hao 郝珂灡 is starting in a little less than two hours! @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her) and I will see you there. https://datasociety.net/events/challenging-ai-hype-and-tech-industry-power/
Columbus! @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her) and I are here and excited for our last joint, in-person event of our book tour, at the WOSU Community Studio on Pearl Street (not the Ross Community Center!) https://prologuebookshop.ticketbud.com/theaicon
Today, as part of the Tech Policy Press and Data & Society "Ideologies of Control: A Series on Tech Power and Democratic Crisis" series, @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her) and I write about the myth of AGI. image
It's book press day! The AI Con is available where ever you find fine books! Check out for details. @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her) and I think we wrote a damn fine book, and we hope you'll enjoy it too. For a taste, check out the preview of Chapter 1, graciously published by LitHub.
This week's the week! THE AI CON drops on Tuesday! You can join @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her) and I tomorrow for our Family Action Network book event with @Timnit Gebru (she/her).! https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4117460131670/WN_sX-i6jBNQiKy2MHBvAzTUA#/registration We also kick off our book tour on Thursday! Check for details. image