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 (edu.yorku.ca/edu-profiles/index.php?mid=2082516) joins Alex and Emily to unpack narratives around automation inevitability in the classroom. Spoiler alert: they're not actually "reducing harm" to students at all!
An interdisciplinary scholar and filmmaker, sava is currently working on a research project examining secondary school teachers’ experiences of genAI use, and making a film about the future of AI in education. Her speculative short film series on the harms of surveillance technology is available at peertube.dair-institute.org/client/en-US/scree….
References:
• "Harm Reduction: A Strategy to Mitigate the Risks of AI" (garp.org/risk-intelligence/technology/harm-red…)• Also referenced: MAIHT3k newsletter, "How to talk about 'AI' without adding to the anthropomorphization" (buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/how-to-talk-abo…)

• UNESCO "AI competency framework for students" (unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000391105.loc…)
Fresh AI Hell:
• Hallucination rebranded as "critical confabulation" (bsky.app/profile/pwhitewood.bsky.social/post/3…)
• "Pennsylvania Board of Medicine Alleges Unlawful Practice of Medicine by an AI Chatbot" (natlawreview.com/article/emilie-not-psychiatri…)
• "Google's smart home AI will be able to use clothing to identify people" (archive.ph/M3qeZ)
• "Medicare AI program made them suffer in pain. Now they want answers" (archive.ph/zqsmX)
• "Why do these Castro gay bars have TSA-style face scanners?" (sf.gazetteer.co/why-do-these-castro-gay-bars-h…)
• "County With 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'" (404media.co/henrico-virginia-datacenter-energy…)
• Palate cleanser: "Florida AG sues OpenAI, seeks to hold CEO Altman personally liable" (cnbc.com/2026/06/01/florida-ag-open-ai-altman-…)
• Palate cleanser: "Norway imposes near ban on AI in elementary school" (reuters.com/technology/norway-imposes-near-ban…)
Check out future streams on Twitch (twitch.tv/dair_institute). Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see (thecon.ai/submit-fresh-ai-hell).
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Music by Toby Menon.
Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park (naomipleasurepark.com).
Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.