Is the world really in the midst of an AI revolution, or is it all just clever marketing, powered by immense amounts of money, capital and hype? This episode arms you to spot AI hype in all its guises, expose the exploitation and power-grabs it aims to hide, and push back against it at work and daily life.
The conversation with Emily M Bender was recorded at RMIT University in partnership with Readings books on 1 July 2025.
The panel discussion Reboot the Narrative was recorded at the Rose Scott Women Writers Festival on 27 June.
Speakers
Emily M Bender
Professor of Linguistics and Adjunct Professor in the School of Computer Science and the Information School at the University of Washington
Co-author (with Alex Hanna), The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want
Co-host, Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 podcast
Kobi Leins (host)
Digital ethics and human rights lawyer
Author, New War Technologies and International Law: The Legal Limits to Weaponising Nanomaterials
Tracey Spicer
Journalist and broadcaster, author of Man-Made: How the bias of the past is being built into the future
Paula Bray
Chief Digital officer at the State Library of Victoria
Lucy Hayward
Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Society of Authors
Ally Burnham (host)
Screen writer and novelist, author, Swallow