Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna · Technology

Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000

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.

Episodes

Big Tech Colon-AI-lism, 2026.09.15

30 Sep 2026

55m

Manifesting the End of Tech Bro Manifestos, 2026.09.08

17 Sep 2026

56m

AI processed

Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg recently published blog posts promoting the inevitability and benefits of artificial intelligence, framing it as a transformative force for global equity, education, and healthcare. These arguments rely on speculative, "magical thinking" that ignores the practical realities of institution...

Working 9 to Hype, 2026.08.10

02 Sep 2026

54m

AI processed

Corporate narratives increasingly leverage "AI innovation" to justify mass layoffs and implement algorithmic management, masking the reality of labor exploitation and surveillance. Block’s recent organizational manifesto attempts to replace human management with an "intelligence layer," a move that ignores the complexi...

Rumors of a Singularity Have Been Grossly Exaggerated, 2026.08.03

19 Aug 2026

54m

AI processed

The "singularity" narrative currently pushed by tech executives like Sam Altman functions as a strategic marketing tool to inflate corporate valuation rather than a reflection of technological reality. OpenAI’s recent "unprecedented" cyber incident involving Hugging Face demonstrates a fundamental lack of basic cyberse...

The AI industry exhibits classic characteristics of an economic bubble, driven by massive capital expenditure that lacks corresponding revenue growth. Major tech companies are currently committing over $700 billion to AI infrastructure, creating a dangerous gap between investment and actual profitability. This speculat...