Emily Bender & Alex Hanna: “The AI Con”

Jeff and Jason sit down with Emily Bender and Alex Hanna, co-authors of The AI Con, to unpack the myths and real-world harms behind today’s AI hype. They discuss why the term “AI” is so often misused, how Big Tech’s models can fail marginalized communities, and why smaller, community-driven AI projects can better serve local needs. The conversation also explores the pitfalls of generative tools, the challenges of democratizing art, and the urgent need for real accountability in the tech industry

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Emily M. Bender is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington, renowned for her work in computational linguistics, language technology, and as co-author of the influential "Stochastic Parrots" paper.

Alex Hanna is a sociologist and Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), whose work focuses on how data in computational technologies shapes racial, gender, and class inequalities.

Buy their new book "The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want" at thecon.ai

Note: Time codes subject to change depending on dynamic ad insertion by the distributor.

CHAPTERS:

00:00⁠ - Podcast begins

01:44 - Introducing Emily Bender and Alex Hanna

02:23 - Why “AI” Is Misleading: Better Terms for Today’s Tech

04:31 - What Is AI Actually Good For? Real-World Use Cases

06:29 - Hidden Data Opportunities in AI and Language Models

07:20 - Community-Driven AI: Real Benefits Beyond Big Tech

09:45 - The Thai Library Thought Experiment: Why AI Lacks Meaning

14:23 - Inside DAIR: Building Alternative AI Futures

⁠19:13 - AI and Creativity: Remixing, Music, and Fair Compensation

24:00⁠⁠ - Does AI Democratize Creativity or Homogenize Voices?

33:47 - Debunking AI Doomerism and TESCREAL: Media’s Role

40:29 - Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000: Podcast Origins and Mission

42:07 - Book Launch Details: The AI Con Release Events

45:07 - Can We Build Effective AI Guardrails?

50:30 - Synthetic Text Extruding Machine... STEM?

50:56 - Oxford Comma y/n?

51:18 - Thank you to Emily Bender and Alex Hanna for joining the AI Inside podcast

Thank you to Emily Bender and Alex Hanna for joining the AI Inside podcast

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