Beware the 20x Engineer, 2026.05.11

In the past year, tech companies have laid off thousands of employees. But when CEOs blame "AI innovation," they're redirecting attention from something much more predictable: job discrimination and gig-ification. Emily and Alex examine some narratives of AI-streamlined workplaces — and why they don't match up with reality.References:Block press release: "From Hierarchy to Intelligence""Lawsuit claims Meta's layoff decisions were made by AI, not humans"Fresh AI Hell:"OpenAI’s latest math breakthroughs commit research misconduct, experts say"Also referenced: Leiden Declaration"AI Assisted Autism Screening"Weird comparison of "AI" emissions to other data center activityPaved paradise and put up a data center"What if you just talked to your children"Palate cleanser: US judge holds DOGE accountable for output they took from ChatGPTPalate cleanser: Data center opposition momentumCheck out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

In the wake of OpenAI's announcement that its products caused a "cyber incident," Sam Altman is now claiming that we're already in the Singularity. And some media outlets are only too happy to help him advance that narrative! Alex and Emily tear up the AI boosters' latest claims of mathy maths combusting into consciousness.References:Business Insider: "Sam Altman says we are in the singularity: 'This is the moment'"Also referenced: Altman on the Relentless podcastWall Street Journal: "How the Futuristic Hack by Rogue OpenAI Models Unfolded"Also referenced: OpenAI and Anthropic press releasesMacAskill op ed in the Guardian: "Could AI be conscious?"Also referenced: Emily's Bluesky threadFresh AI Hell:Google kills AlphaFold"Former executive accuses Mayo of cutting corners on AI research"Amazon wants to use Twitch streams to train gen AI"Meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs, lawsuit claims"Meta contaminates water in Cheyenne"Humanoid robot teaching assistant"AI companies buying and destroying antique booksPalate cleanser: Mathematicians clap backCheck out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

Lately, a new framework has been creeping into AI boosterism: "harm reduction," or "responsible use." Education technology scholar dr. sava saheli singh joins Alex and Emily to unpack narratives around automation inevitability in the classroom. Spoiler alert: they're not actually "reducing harm" to students at all!An interdisciplinary scholar and filmmaker, sava is currently working on a research project examining secondary school teachers’ experiences of genAI use, and making a film about the future of AI in education. Her speculative short film series on the harms of surveillance technology is available at screeningsurveillance.com.References:"Harm Reduction: A Strategy to Mitigate the Risks of AI"Also referenced: MAIHT3k newsletter, "How to talk about 'AI' without adding to the anthropomorphization"UNESCO "AI competency framework for students"Fresh AI Hell:Hallucination rebranded as "critical confabulation""Pennsylvania Board of Medicine Alleges Unlawful Practice of Medicine by an AI Chatbot""Google's smart home AI will be able to use clothing to identify people""Medicare AI program made them suffer in pain. Now they want answers""Why do these Castro gay bars have TSA-style face scanners?""County With 37 Data Centers Asks Schools to 'Conserve Electricity'"Palate cleanser: "Florida AG sues OpenAI, seeks to hold CEO Altman personally liable"Palate cleanser: "Norway imposes near ban on AI in elementary school"Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

AI boosters want to hand off emergency services to the bullshit generators. And horrifyingly, some medical professionals want to help them! Join Emily and Alex for a deep dive on the latest automated horrors threatening our collective health and safety.References:"The role of large language models in emergency care: a comprehensive benchmarking study""Seattle uses AI to help triage, divert 911 medical calls"Also referenced: MAIHT3k newsletter on Seattle's 911 automation"FDA approves early warning system for sepsis"Also referenced: Underlying research paper on this systemFresh AI Hell:Family business stops shipping due to automated delivery nonsenseGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai says people aren't "evolved" enough to understand AI"California judges are testing a new AI clerk, and you won't know if it’s looking at your case"Nonconsensual "AI monitors" for memory careNvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the goal is Star Trek computer and/or R2D2"A little surveillance break, as a treat""Virtual child" chatbot companyChaser: Festus, MO residents vote out council members who approved data centerCheck out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

What should we do when the "AI" bubble pops? Emily and Alex are joined by researcher Matt Scherer, who recently published a report called "No Bailout for Big Tech Billionaires: Policies for when the AI bubble bursts." They unpack what the boosters are saying about their finances, and how we can all push back against arguments for a government bailout.Matt Scherer is a fellow at the anti-monopoly think tank Open Markets Institute. He previously led the workers' rights project at the Center for Democracy & Technology.References:Forbes: "AI Can Change The World And Still Be A Bubble"Also referenced: Is AI Profitable Yet?CNBC: "Altman says some investors will be left 'very burnt'"CNBC: "Bezos brushes off concerns of an AI bubble: 'You shouldn’t worry about it'Fresh AI Hell:Empty Waymos create self-driving traffic jam"AA digital sponsor"Stanford researchers claim "AI agents...embrace Marxist ideologies""Chatbots at the drive-thru"YouGov polling on automated juriesChaser: Erin Brockovich is on the case!AI Startup Says It Will Pay People $2,000 a Month to MasturbateChaser: You used which brush!?Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

"Sure, LLMs are bad at some things, but you can't deny that they're useful for programming!" Sound familiar? In this week's episode, Emily and Alex break down the key myths around AI-boosted productivity in tech. Plus, Alex previews her work with DAIR's newly launched Luddite Lab, where workers are organizing against automation.References:Yale Budget Lab report: "What Might AI Adoption Mean for the Fiscal and Economic Outlook?"Also referenced: Karger et al. paper funded by Open PhilanthropyGarry Tan’s gstack"Karpathy-Inspired Claude Code Guidelines"Previous MAIHT3k episodes referenced:Episode 60: Vibe Coding: Four Security Nightmares in a Trenchcoat (with Susanna Cox)Episode 53: Linguists Versus 'AI' Speech Analysis (with Nicole Holliday)Fresh AI Hell:Emotional surveillance at workDARPA call for proposals on "Decentralized Artificial Intelligence"CircleCI claims "the promised AI productivity boom isn’t all hype"Andreessen is at it again"A data center drained 30M gallons of water unnoticed"Retraction of pro-edtech paperChaser: "Minnesota passes the nation’s first ban on ‘nudification’ apps"Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

Senator Bernie Sanders recently hosted a panel on "The Existential Threat of AI," featuring Future of Life Institute co-founder Max Tegmark and other x-riskers. Dr. Nathalie Maréchal joins Emily and Alex to unpack this latest stop on Bernie's descent into doomerism. We return to the MST3k model with a rare video artifact!Nathalie Maréchal is a writer, researcher and advocate fighting for democracy and human rights in the age of technofascism. Her latest article, "Tech Policy Is on the Front Line of Fascism vs. Democracy. Pick a Side," is available in Tech Policy Press. She is currently the managing policy director at Northeastern University’s Institute for Information, the Internet, and Democracy.References:"LIVE: The Existential Threat of AI and the Need for International Cooperation"Fresh AI Hell:"The AI Pledge for Humanity" petitionRichard Dawkins force-femmes a chatbotAnthropic claims LLMs have "emotion concepts"Palantir wants us all to stop being mean to data centers"Optimizing LLM costs by inventing employees again"Luxury surveillance catCheck out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

Last month, we recorded our very first in-person podcast, live from Brooklyn! Alex and Emily debunk an especially soulless hype artifact about Anthropic's absurd claims of "moral education" for chatbots. Tune in to hear our rendition of "There Was A Society That Swallowed AI," plus other fun surprises!References:"Claude has an 80-page 'soul document'"Fresh AI Hell:NYC schools "Guidance on Artificial Intelligence""Therapy App Sessions Exposed in Court"Meta to track "employee mouse movements, keystrokes for AI training data"News org uses real journalist names on synthetic text"New Gas-Powered Data Centers Could Emit More Greenhouse Gases Than Entire Nations""The first agentic cannabis device"TikTok auto–opts in users for "AI" remixesOberlin students push back on "Year of AI Exploration""This is just to say / I have turned off / the AI features"Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

The weather’s getting warmer, so what better time to take a trip to the hottest place in the universe — Fresh AI Hell! Emily and Alex take a spin through more than 30 hype artifacts, with topics including medicine, data centers, and fake people.Fresh AI Hell regions visited:AI bubble + data centersFake peopleMedicineThis is your brain on ChatGPTPolicy + privacySee the show notes on Peertube for a full list of artifacts referenced.Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

Why are some writers and publishers so excited to automate their work? Author Carmen Maria Machado joins Alex and Emily to unpack what writers are missing when they hand off their work to chatbots, and the underlying issues this reveals in the publishing industry. Plus, we resolve to keep fan fiction a human endeavor!Carmen Maria Machado is the author of the bestselling memoir In the Dream House and the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties. Her essays, fiction, and criticism have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, Vogue, This American Life, The Believer, Guernica, and elsewhere.Find tickets to our April 30th live show here!References:- "I wrote a novel using AI. Writers must accept artificial intelligence."- AFT shares tips for "Harnessing the Best of AI"Fresh AI Hell:- "With Teens Comfortable Confiding in AI, Should Schools Embrace It for Mental Health Care?"- Longread on the use of automation by the British government- "OpenAI Backs Bill That Would Limit Liability for AI-Enabled Mass Deaths or Financial Disasters"- UN brief on "AI Deception"- Reader's Digest cover on "Making Friends with AI"- The only good "AI acceptance" policyCheck out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.