Content:

Is artificial intelligence going to take over the world? Have big tech scientists created an artificial lifeform that can think on its own? Is it going to put authors, artists, and others out of business? Are we about to enter an age where computers are better than humans at everything?

The answer to these questions, linguist Emily M. Bender and sociologist Alex Hanna make clear, is “no,” “they wish,” “LOL,” and “definitely not.”

This kind of thinking is a symptom of a phenomenon known as “AI hype.” Hype looks and smells fishy: It twists words and helps the rich get richer by justifying data theft, motivating surveillance capitalism, and devaluing human creativity in order to replace meaningful work with jobs that treat people like machines.

In their new book, The AI Con, Bender and Hanna offer a sharp, witty, and wide-ranging take-down of AI hype across its many forms. Please join us in celebrating their new release, reflect on how we got here, and discuss how we might resist and revolt against these technopolitical systems. Emily and Alex will be joined by Ale, a co-director at Lucy Parsons Labs, who will facilitate the evening's discussion and help interrogate the AI industry's extension and perpetuation of fascistic realities.

If you can't make it IRL, LPL will also be simultaneously live-streaming the discussion on twitch.tv/lpl__ Accessibility: This event is hosted at the bookstore, which is a wheelchair accessible space. Masks are required. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis.