Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000

Afleveringen

1. My Tech Workers Have Unionized, 2026.10.05

   14 oktober 2026 · 54 min

   Afspelen
   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 Against Tech Oligarchy, to discuss the ways workplace organizing is evolving to meet this moment. Lees meer

   JS Tan is getting his PhD at MIT and formerly worked in tech, where he spent years organizing across the industry. Clarissa Redwine helped organize the Kickstarter union, and cofounded and runs the annual tech organizing conference Circuit Breakers. Their book, Against Tech Oligarchy: Worker Resistance in the World’s Most Powerful Industry, is available now!

   References:

   Amazon finds cases of AI causing runaway spending on tech projects

   Mark Zuckerberg had a bold plan to replace Meta staff with AI. Here’s how it imploded.

   Fresh AI Hell:

   ICE x Boston Dynamics

   "OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft"

   Effective Altruists mad about someone "torturing LLMs"

   Former Seattle City Council president launches centrist slop website

   Palate cleanser: "New AI Literacy Program Awards Students Free Pizza If They Don’t Know How to Read Books Anymore"

   Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

   Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

   Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.

   Follow us!

   Emily

   Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

   Alex

   Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex

   Twitter: @alexhanna

   Music by Toby Menon.
   Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
   Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

2. Big Tech Colon-AI-lism, 2026.09.15

   30 september 2026 · 55 min

   Afspelen
   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 research and development that center the expertise, cultural norms and goals of Indigenous communities. Lees meer

   Keoni Mahelona is the CTO of Te Hiku Media and a Native Hawaiian from the island of Kaua'i. He's a driving force behind the development of sovereign digital technologies that aim to protect and promote Indigenous languages, knowledge, culture, and now democracy.

   References:

   Microsoft/IDB paper: "The Performance of Artificial Intelligence in the Use of Indigenous American Languages"

   Also referenced:

   Kaitiakitanga License

   Joanna Radin paper on Indigenous data collection

   Fresh AI Hell:

   "Apple Watch's new always-on don't-call-it-transcription feature"

   Nevada County prosecutors use "AI" and insert errors into criminal cases

   UW Grand Rounds: "If AI Can Write the Note, Who Does the Thinking?"

   The "Pro-Human Assembly"

   Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

   Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

   Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.

   Follow us!

   Emily

   Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

   Alex

   Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex

   Twitter: @alexhanna

   Music by Toby Menon.
   Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
   Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

3. Manifesting the End of Tech Bro Manifestos, 2026.09.08

   17 september 2026 · 57 min

   Afspelen
   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 writing to unearth the core motivations at the heart of these screeds. Lees meer

   References:

   Gates: "The turbulent AI era is here. The choices we make now are critical."

   Also referenced: "Impulse Purchase" by OK Go

   Zuckerberg: "The Future is for Everyone"

   Fresh AI Hell:

   Tristan Buckmaster's statement on OpenAI trying to take credit for his work

   Also referenced: Emily's debate with Sébastien Bubeck

   Nature article worrying about impact of LLMs on language change for all the wrong reasons

   Palate cleanser: NYC bans "AI" in schools

   Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

   Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

   Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.

   Follow us!

   Emily

   Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

   Alex

   Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex

   Twitter: @alexhanna

   Music by Toby Menon.
   Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
   Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

4. Working 9 to Hype, 2026.08.10

   2 september 2026 · 54 min

   Afspelen
   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 some narratives of AI-streamlined workplaces — and why they don't match up with reality. Lees meer

   References:

   Block press release: "From Hierarchy to Intelligence"

   "Lawsuit claims Meta's layoff decisions were made by AI, not humans"

   Fresh AI Hell:

   "OpenAI’s latest math breakthroughs commit research misconduct, experts say"

   Also referenced: Leiden Declaration

   "AI Assisted Autism Screening"

   Weird comparison of "AI" emissions to other data center activity

   Paved paradise and put up a data center

   "What if you just talked to your children"

   Palate cleanser: US judge holds DOGE accountable for output they took from ChatGPT

   Palate cleanser: Data center opposition momentum

   Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

   Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

   Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.

   Follow us!

   Emily

   Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

   Alex

   Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex

   Twitter: @alexhanna

   Music by Toby Menon.
   Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
   Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

5. Rumors of a Singularity Have Been Grossly Exaggerated, 2026.08.03

   19 augustus 2026 · 55 min

   Afspelen
   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 tear up the AI boosters' latest claims of mathy maths combusting into consciousness. Lees meer

   References:

   Business Insider: "Sam Altman says we are in the singularity: 'This is the moment'"

   Also referenced: Altman on the Relentless podcast

   Wall Street Journal: "How the Futuristic Hack by Rogue OpenAI Models Unfolded"

   Also referenced: OpenAI and Anthropic press releases

   MacAskill op ed in the Guardian: "Could AI be conscious?"

   Also referenced: Emily's Bluesky thread

   Fresh AI Hell:

   Google kills AlphaFold

   "Former executive accuses Mayo of cutting corners on AI research"

   Amazon wants to use Twitch streams to train gen AI

   "Meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs, lawsuit claims"

   Meta contaminates water in Cheyenne

   "Humanoid robot teaching assistant"

   AI companies buying and destroying antique books

   Palate cleanser: Mathematicians clap back

   Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

   Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

   Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.

   Follow us!

   Emily

   Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

   Alex

   Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex

   Twitter: @alexhanna

   Music by Toby Menon.
   Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
   Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

6. Who's Responsible for "Responsible AI"?, 2026.07.06

   4 augustus 2026 · 59 min

   Afspelen
   Lately, a new framework has been creeping into AI boosterism: "harm reduction," or "responsible use." Education technology scholar dr. sava saheli singh 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! Lees meer

   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 screeningsurveillance.com.

   References:

   "Harm Reduction: A Strategy to Mitigate the Risks of AI"

   Also referenced: MAIHT3k newsletter, "How to talk about 'AI' without adding to the anthropomorphization"

   UNESCO "AI competency framework for students"

   Fresh AI Hell:

   Hallucination rebranded as "critical confabulation"

   "Pennsylvania Board of Medicine Alleges Unlawful Practice of Medicine by an AI Chatbot"

   "Google's smart home AI will be able to use clothing to identify people"

   "Medicare AI program made them suffer in pain. Now they want answers"

   "Why do these Castro gay bars have TSA-style face scanners?"

   "County With 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'"

   Palate cleanser: "Florida AG sues OpenAI, seeks to hold CEO Altman personally liable"

   Palate cleanser: "Norway imposes near ban on AI in elementary school"

   Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

   Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

   Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.

   Follow us!

   Emily

   Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

   Alex

   Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex

   Twitter: @alexhanna

   Music by Toby Menon.
   Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
   Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

7. State of Emergency, 2026.06.29

   23 juli 2026 · 56 min

   Afspelen
   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 health and safety. Lees meer

   References:

   "The role of large language models in emergency care: a comprehensive benchmarking study"

   "Seattle uses AI to help triage, divert 911 medical calls"

   Also referenced: MAIHT3k newsletter on Seattle's 911 automation

   "FDA approves early warning system for sepsis"

   Also referenced: Underlying research paper on this system

   Fresh AI Hell:

   Family business stops shipping due to automated delivery nonsense

   Google CEO Sundar Pichai says people aren't "evolved" enough to understand AI

   "California judges are testing a new AI clerk, and you won't know if it’s looking at your case"

   Nonconsensual "AI monitors" for memory care

   Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the goal is Star Trek computer and/or R2D2

   "A little surveillance break, as a treat"

   "Virtual child" chatbot company

   Chaser: Festus, MO residents vote out council members who approved data center

   Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

   Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

   Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.

   Follow us!

   Emily

   Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

   Alex

   Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex

   Twitter: @alexhanna

   Music by Toby Menon.
   Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
   Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

8. When the Bubble Bursts (with Matt Scherer), 2026.06.01

   7 juli 2026 · 53 min

   Afspelen
   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." They unpack what the boosters are saying about their finances, and how we can all push back against arguments for a government bailout. Lees meer

   Matt Scherer is a fellow at the anti-monopoly think tank Open Markets Institute. He previously led the workers' rights project at the Center for Democracy & Technology.

   References:

   Forbes: "AI Can Change The World And Still Be A Bubble"

   Also referenced: Is AI Profitable Yet?

   CNBC: "Altman says some investors will be left 'very burnt'"

   CNBC: "Bezos brushes off concerns of an AI bubble: 'You shouldn’t worry about it'

   Fresh AI Hell:

   Empty Waymos create self-driving traffic jam

   "AA digital sponsor"

   Stanford researchers claim "AI agents...embrace Marxist ideologies"

   "Chatbots at the drive-thru"

   YouGov polling on automated juries

   Chaser: Erin Brockovich is on the case!

   AI Startup Says It Will Pay People $2,000 a Month to Masturbate

   Chaser: You used which brush!?

   Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

   Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

   Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.

   Follow us!

   Emily

   Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

   Alex

   Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex

   Twitter: @alexhanna

   Music by Toby Menon.
   Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
   Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

9. Beware the 20x Engineer, 2026.05.11

   24 juni 2026 · 53 min

   Afspelen
   "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 work with DAIR's newly launched Luddite Lab, where workers are organizing against automation. Lees meer

   References:

   Yale Budget Lab report: "What Might AI Adoption Mean for the Fiscal and Economic Outlook?"

   Also referenced: Karger et al. paper funded by Open Philanthropy

   Garry Tan’s gstack

   "Karpathy-Inspired Claude Code Guidelines"

   Previous MAIHT3k episodes referenced:

   Episode 60: Vibe Coding: Four Security Nightmares in a Trenchcoat (with Susanna Cox)

   Episode 53: Linguists Versus 'AI' Speech Analysis (with Nicole Holliday)

   Fresh AI Hell:

   Emotional surveillance at work

   DARPA call for proposals on "Decentralized Artificial Intelligence"

   CircleCI claims "the promised AI productivity boom isn’t all hype"

   Andreessen is at it again

   "A data center drained 30M gallons of water unnoticed"

   Retraction of pro-edtech paper

   Chaser: "Minnesota passes the nation’s first ban on ‘nudification’ apps"

   Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

   Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

   Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.

   Follow us!

   Emily

   Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

   Alex

   Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social

   Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex

   Twitter: @alexhanna

   Music by Toby Menon.
   Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
   Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

10. Bernie Goes Down the X-Risk Rabbithole (with Dr. Nathalie Maréchal), 2026.05.04

    9 juni 2026 · 1 uur 4 min

    Afspelen
    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's descent into doomerism. We return to the MST3k model with a rare video artifact! Lees meer

    Nathalie Maréchal is a writer, researcher and advocate fighting for democracy and human rights in the age of technofascism. Her latest article, "Tech Policy Is on the Front Line of Fascism vs. Democracy. Pick a Side," is available in Tech Policy Press. She is currently the managing policy director at Northeastern University’s Institute for Information, the Internet, and Democracy.

    References:

    "LIVE: The Existential Threat of AI and the Need for International Cooperation"

    Fresh AI Hell:

    "The AI Pledge for Humanity" petition

    Richard Dawkins force-femmes a chatbot

    Anthropic claims LLMs have "emotion concepts"

    Palantir wants us all to stop being mean to data centers

    "Optimizing LLM costs by inventing employees again"

    Luxury surveillance cat

    Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

    Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.

    Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.

    Follow us!

    Emily

    Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social

    Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

    Alex

    Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social

    Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex

    Twitter: @alexhanna

    Music by Toby Menon.
    Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
    Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

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