- #151 Technologie
- #151beste Platzierung
- alle zwei WochenErscheinungsrhythmus
- 56 mintypische Länge
- 14. Okt.letzte Folge
Artificial Intelligence has too much hype. In this podcast, linguist Emily M. Bender and sociologist Alex Hanna break down the AI hype, separate fact from fiction, and science from bloviation. They're joined by special guests and talk about everything, from machine consciousness to science fiction, to political economy to art made by machines.
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My Tech Workers Have Unionized, 2026.10.05
Across the tech industry, workers are fed up with endless layoff cycles, overwork, and "AI" tools being forced into their jobs. And their bosses hate to hear it! Emily and Alex are joined by JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine, the authors of Again
Big Tech Colon-AI-lism, 2026.09.15
This week, Alex and Emily are joined by Keoni Mahelona of Te Hiku Media to discuss Indigenous language technology. They discuss problems that arise when Big Tech tries to bring its "solutions" into this space, and best practices for researc
Manifesting the End of Tech Bro Manifestos, 2026.09.08
Last month, Sam Altman proclaimed that we're already in "the Singularity." Not to be outdone, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have both recently come out with lengthy blog posts about "superhuman AI." Emily and Alex brave some truly terrible
Working 9 to Hype, 2026.08.10
In the past year, tech companies have laid off thousands of employees. But when CEOs blame "AI innovation," they're redirecting attention from something much more predictable: job discrimination and gig-ification. Emily and Alex examine som
Rumors of a Singularity Have Been Grossly Exaggerated, 2026.08.03
In the wake of OpenAI's announcement that its products caused a "cyber incident," Sam Altman is now claiming that we're already in the Singularity. And some media outlets are only too happy to help him advance that narrative! Alex and Emily
Who's Responsible for "Responsible AI"?, 2026.07.06
Lately, a new framework has been creeping into AI boosterism: "harm reduction," or "responsible use." Education technology scholar dr. sava saheli singh (https://edu.yorku.ca/edu-profiles/index.php?mid=2082516) joins Alex and Emily to unpac
State of Emergency, 2026.06.29
AI boosters want to hand off emergency services to the bullshit generators. And horrifyingly, some medical professionals want to help them! Join Emily and Alex for a deep dive on the latest automated horrors threatening our collective healt
When the Bubble Bursts (with Matt Scherer), 2026.06.01
What should we do when the "AI" bubble pops? Emily and Alex are joined by researcher Matt Scherer, who recently published a report called "No Bailout for Big Tech Billionaires: Policies for when the AI bubble bursts." (https://www.openmarke
Beware the 20x Engineer, 2026.05.11
"Sure, LLMs are bad at some things, but you can't deny that they're useful for programming!" Sound familiar? In this week's episode, Emily and Alex break down the key myths around AI-boosted productivity in tech. Plus, Alex previews her wor
Bernie Goes Down the X-Risk Rabbithole (with Dr. Nathalie Maréchal), 2026.05.04
Senator Bernie Sanders recently hosted a panel on "The Existential Threat of AI," featuring Future of Life Institute co-founder Max Tegmark and other x-riskers. Dr. Nathalie Maréchal joins Emily and Alex to unpack this latest stop on Bernie
LIVE: Anthropic Imagines a Very Special Boy, 2026.04.30
Last month, we recorded our very first in-person podcast, live from Brooklyn! Alex and Emily debunk an especially soulless hype artifact about Anthropic's absurd claims of "moral education" for chatbots. Tune in to hear our rendition of "Th
Hotter Than (AI) Hell, 2026.04.20
The weather’s getting warmer, so what better time to take a trip to the hottest place in the universe — Fresh AI Hell! Emily and Alex take a spin through more than 30 hype artifacts, with topics including medicine, data centers, and fake pe
There's No Ghost in the Machine (with Carmen Maria Machado), 2026.04.13
Why are some writers and publishers so excited to automate their work? Author Carmen Maria Machado joins Alex and Emily to unpack what writers are missing when they hand off their work to chatbots, and the underlying issues this reveals in
Uber for Military Surveillance (with Niamh McIntyre), 2026.03.30
The people who make automated translation possible are often low-paid gig workers. Usually, they don't even know who they're really working for — and it might be the US military. Reporter Niamh McIntyre joins Alex and Emily to dissect how o
Data Centers Go Nuclear (with Maia Woluchem and Dr. Livia Garofalo), 2026.03.09
We knew that the energy demands of data centers were preventing dirty energy sources from being sunsetted. Now hyperscalers are reaching even further, resurrecting Pennsylvania's infamous Three Mile Island. Emily and Alex are joined by Maia
Data Centers in Space!? (with Dr. Adam Becker), 2026.03.02
Data centers are overburdening the planet, so tech billionaires have a new scheme — put 'em in space! Astrophysicist Dr. Adam Becker joins Alex and Emily to launch this plan into the sun. We unpack all the reasons that this hilariously terr
How the War Department Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AI (with Naomi Klein), 2026.02.09
AI boosters and the US military are engaged in a lethal love affair. Award-winning journalist Naomi Klein joins Emily and Alex to discuss how glitchy technology supports global imperialism — and vice versa. Plus, we explore which Dr. Strang
A Bad Case of Hype-itis, 2026.02.02
Move over Dr. Google, Dr. ChatGPT is here, and it's even worse as a medical intervention! Alex and Emily scrub in to slice up some harmful new nonsense in the world of "AI" for medicine. What's the cure for an expensive and inaccessible hea
Hell All the Way Down, 2022–2025
This is a special episode, and it’s not like our usual livestream recordings. Instead, our producer Ozzy dug through the Fresh AI Hell archives to create a supercut of Alex's improvised transitions. She's made up dozens of skits and songs a
Wrapping Up a Hellish 2025, 2025.12.15
For our last recording of 2025, Emily and Alex take on a TIME article naming the "architects of AI" as their person of the year. We also look back at the year in AI nonsense, and share findings from our Fresh AI Hell Wrapped. Happy Hype-y N
Defining AGI: Oops! All Eugenics, 2025.12.08
There's a new definition of artificial general intelligence in town, and unsurprisingly... it's bad! Alex and Emily rip up the tissue-paper-thin premises behind this latest attempt to define "intelligence." Plus, we discover that AI hypers
This is What Algo-cracy Looks Like, 2025.12.01
Tech leaders are pushing the idea that automation can strengthen democracy — but as usual, their bold suggestions are based on castles made of sand. Alex and Emily tear down some flimsy arguments for AI governance, exposing their incorrect
You Talked to Workers for This Labor Research... Right? (with Sophie Song), 2025.11.17
Last month, Senate Democrats warned that "Automation Could Destroy Nearly 100 Million U.S Jobs in a Decade." Ironically, they used ChatGPT to come to that conclusion. DAIR Research Associate Sophie Song joins us to unpack the issues when se
Drag It All To Hell, 2025.10.27
It's been six months since our last all-Hell episode! In honor of Halloween season, we take a long journey into the very scary Fresh AI Hell mines. Topics include terrifying uses of AI in education, scientific research, and politics — plus,
Crunching the Numbers (with Decca Muldowney), 2025.10.20
So-called AI tools are increasingly infiltrating newsrooms, particularly when it comes to data analysis. DAIR writer-in-residence Decca Muldowney joins us to discuss the need for journalists to distinguish between "AI" and reliable, verifia
Building Worlds Through Better Reading (with Reo Eveleth), 2025.09.29
Powerful AI boosters claim to love science fiction novels, but why do they always seem to take the wrong lessons from them? Reporter and writer Reo Eveleth joins us to discuss the ways tech leaders misuse storytelling, and how we can avoid
Three Years of Ridicule as Praxis, 2025.09.19
It's Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000's third birthday! To celebrate, Emily and Alex respond to listener questions about the show, and reflect on the past and future of AI hype. Topics range from how to talk to your kids about LLMs, to what the
The Robo-Therapist Will See You Now (with Maggie Harrison Dupré), 2025.08.18
Talking to chatbots can have serious mental health consequences — fueling delusions and leading users away from consensus reality. Futurism writer Maggie Harrison Dupré joins us to unpack the hype around AI therapists, based on her groundbr
Winning the Race to Hell (with Sarah Myers West and Kate Brennan), 2025.08.04
Trump’s “AI Action Plan” is his latest attempt to turn AI hype into official national policy. Kate Brennan and Sarah Myers West, of the AI Now Institute, join us to dig through this pile of deregulatory gifts to Big Tech. Dr. Sarah Myers We
Vibe Coding: Four Security Nightmares in a Trenchcoat (with Susanna Cox), 2025.07.21
After many months of making fun of the term "vibe coding," Emily and Alex tackle the LLMs-as-coders fad head-on, with help from security researcher Susanna Cox. From one person's screed that proclaims everyone not on the vibe-coding bandwag
