Faculty Associate Emily Bender’s new book, “The AI Con,” takes a critical look at AI marketing and is highlighted in GeekWire’s Bot or Not? series.

In the interview, Bender and her co-author Alex Hanna, the Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute, discuss why it’s so important to be thoughtful about the claims around AI and the impact the technology can have. They argue that the deep costs of AI around the environment, employment and society warrant a hard line against wide implementation.

The article notes that “the authors advise internet users to rely on trusted sources rather than text extruding machines. And they say users should be willing to resort to ‘strategic refusal’ — that is, to say ‘absolutely not’ when tech companies ask them to provide data for, or make use of data from, AI blenderizers.”

Read the full article here: https://www.geekwire.com/2025/ai-con-hold-back-hype/?mkt_tok=NTI3LUFIUi0yNjUAAAGakbEYA8TOHKHKZtwlKmrMjLjXMEahVdIvT9vWxRZBtWxJcAD7HFiFJRXYxuoWkj94bLyM0-wEZQhjlt0M4awLY5-IG_98pBIH8gpbP8lCWho