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.
Tech Policy Press
Don't Be Fooled By Trump's Plan To 'Upskill' Workers To Prepare For AI | TechPolicy.Press
The future of work does not require an unquestioning acceptance and embrace of AI, write DAIR's Alex Hanna, Tina Park, and Sophie Song.
"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.
The Conversation
Is AI a con? A new book punctures the hype and proposes some ways to resist
AI slop means faster and cheaper content, and the technical and financial logic of online platforms creates a race to the bottom.
 @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!
AI Workers
AI Workers
Our conversation with @npub1dqh4...eq5y 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.
Tech Policy Press
The Myth of AGI | TechPolicy.Press
Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender write that claims of "Artificial General Intelligence" are a cover for abandoning the current social contract.
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It's book press day! The AI Con is available where ever you find fine books! Check out
THE AI CON
THE AI CON
How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want
 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.
Literary Hub
On the Very Real Dangers of the Artificial Intelligence Hype Machine
As long as there’s been research on AI, there’s been AI hype. In the most commonly told narrative about the research field’s development, mat...
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 @npub1z40l...s3fq! https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4117460131670/WN_sX-i6jBNQiKy2MHBvAzTUA#/registration We also kick off our book tour on Thursday! Check
THE AI CON
Events - THE AI CON
Upcoming events TBD Recordings available May 8, 2025, DAIR Institute, virtual book launch with Vauhini Vara (audio only podcast version) May 12, 20...
 for details. image
TODAY at 2 PM PT! Join us as we celebrate the release of the THE AI CON! @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her) and I are so excited to chat with Vauhini Vara about the book!
Eventbrite
THE AI CON Virtual Book Launch
We kick off our book tour with a virtual launch on the DAIR Twitch stream! We’ll be joined in conversation by Vauhini Vara.
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