Generative AI Is Not Inevitable
On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna on the dangers of generative AI.

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On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna to discuss some of the harms caused by generative AI, address the industry's ploys to keep the public invested while companies flounder under the weight of unmet promises, and what folks can do to push back.
Emily M. Bender is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at University of Washington. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Institute. They are the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want.
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People attend Computex 2025 at Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei on May 20, 2025.
(I-Hwa Cheng / AFP via Getty Images)On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, I am joined by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna to discuss some of the harms caused by generative AI, address the industry’s ploys to keep the public invested while companies flounder under the weight of unmet promises, and what folks can do to push back.
Emily M. Bender is a professor in the Department of Linguistics at University of Washington. Alex Hanna is director of research at the Distributed AI Institute. They are the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want.
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Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Paris Marx is joined by Sam Biddle to discuss how Silicon Valley is shamelessly courting government military contracts, using tactics to silence employee dissent and normalize the situation to the public, and what it all means for the future of military geopolitics.
Sam Biddle is a senior technology reporter at The Intercept.
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