Blood in the Machine

“Stochastic parrots,” a term coined in an influential 2021 paper written by two AI researchers and two computational linguists, essentially holds that large language models are not “intelligent” but are rather systems that output material based on what’s in their training data. Now, while LLMs and technologies described as AI today have become more sophisticated and complex over the last 5 years, the term remains a fundamentally accurate way of describing LLMs.Yet the industry hates it like the plague. AI industry folks absolutely lose their minds over the term, and often bring it up, unprompted, just to try to debunk it again and again.Why does this particular term have a unique capacity to enrage AI industry folks? I had a theory that, even more so than other critiques about shaky financing or dubious functionality, stochastic parrots undercuts the very foundation that the AI boom is built on: That tech companies are building a machine god of infinite power and potential. These firms have relied on narrative to build up and to sell to the world a very expensive, resource-consumptive technology. If it turns out it’s an unthinking system that’s often fallible in predictable ways, well, that might not be worth quite as many trillions of dollars.To discuss this theory in greater depth, I thought I’d go right to the source—to one of the paper’s co-authors, professor Emily M. Bender, of the University of Washington.Quick PSA: I can only do this work thanks to readers, listeners, and viewers who chip in a few bucks each month to help me keep the lights on. If you’re one of them, you have my sincere thanks; you’re the reason I can cover subjects and do the sort of reporting so few others will. If you’re a fan of the “Great 2026 Blood in the Machine Podcast Experiment” or appreciate what we’re doing here, consider upgrading to a paid subscription; it takes no small amount of work to book great guests, research, write, and produce the thing, and we’re early days yet. Okay! That’s enough from me; thanks for tuning in, and hammers up.Articles and media mentioned in the show:The “Stochastic Parrots” paperStochastic Parrots 🦜: Frequently Unasked Questions | by Emily M. Bender | MediumEmily M. Bender on BlueSkyThe AI Con, with Alex Hanna.Producer Ryan’s NewsletterRyan’s BlueskyArticles mentionedAI Bros Are Having a Meltdown Because the Associated Press Stylebook Clarifies That AIs Don’t Have FeelingsWeekend Update: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on AI’s Threat to Humanity - SNLAlec Stapp on XTrump AI deal rebrands ‘artificial intelligence’ as ‘superintelligence’ | Donald Trump | The GuardianTrump’s new accord on ‘super intelligence’ includes spelling error“White House Accord on Super Intelligence” / XStochastic Parrots paperStochastic Parrots 🦜: Frequently Unasked Questions | by Emily M. Bender | MediumNate Silver on X:View of The TESCREAL bundle: Eugenics and the promise of utopia through artificial general intelligence“Be willing to destroy a rogue data center by airstrike” - leading AI alignment researcher pens Time piece calling for ban on large GPU clustersCanada’s AI minister blames OpenAI for ‘failure’ after mass shooting - POLITICOParents of teenager who took his own life sue OpenAI Get full access to Blood in the Machine at www.bloodinthemachine.com/subscribe

While billionaires and world leaders expound the dangers of all-powerful, “super intelligent” AI, the reality on the ground is that it's a tech product that’s only made possible by countless human beings, laboring for sometimes dollars a day, doing work like “cleaning” data sets so they’re usable, scanning books and literature into databases, creating usable content, and moderating the output of AI systems to weed out offensive, gruesome, and racist content. These workers are underpaid, overtaxed, and fighting for better conditions—even as AI executives are declaring that the systems they prop up are so powerful they’re about to extinguish life on the planet. In the meantime, workers like Joan Kinyua and Michael Geoffery Asia of the Data Labelers Association just want fair pay and basic protections. I recently spoke to both of them about what it’s like to perform crucial work day in and day out and yet be completely invisible to the company that relies on your labor—and to the world at large. To help feed Silicon Valley’s illusion that these systems are actually machine gods. And to fight for better conditions, rights and recognition in spite of it all.Show NotesData Labelers AssociationBlood in the Machine NewsletterBrian’s BlueskyProducer Ryan’s NewsletterRyan’s BlueskyArticles mentionedMy latest newsletter:Dario Amodei — We Must Pace the FrontierThe hidden workforce behind every AI tool you use: Announcing the data work landscape 2.0 - TechEquity CollaborativeAltman and Amodei address UN: ‘There are many things that AI cannot and should not automate’Tech Influence WatchHow to use AI doom marketing to dupe the media and rake in billions in 10 easy stepsFrontier AI safety regulations: A reference for lab staff - METRAI giants tap into the social media playbook: self-regulationAI leaders call for tougher protections against AI-aided bioweapons | The VergeAI Labs Want Someone to Stop Them - BloombergThe AI extinction narrative is winning outModels Don’t Go RogueMisleading Metaphors, Real Risks - by Melanie MitchellRapid Response 47 on X: “.@POTUS: The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme of control for Artificial Intelligence Get full access to Blood in the Machine at www.bloodinthemachine.com/subscribe

In a year rife with backlash to big tech, data centers, and AI, one company still manages to stand out: Flock Safety. Over the past decade, Flock has been building out a massive network of surveillance cameras across the nation. The images those cameras record are uploaded to a central database, and can be accessed by law enforcement and federal authorities.Abuse of the system has been rampant. Police have used Flock’s Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) to stalk exes and to track women seeking abortions across state lines. ICE has accessed Flock data to assist in crackdown on immigrants. Innocent people have been wrongfully imprisoned after being flagged by the system. With the anti-Flock movement growing, and more people looking into how to get Flock out of their communities, I sat down with Ed, an organizer with DeFlock, to explain, step by step, how you can start a movement to get the surveillance tech out of your town, too.Check out DeFlock here.Blood in the Machine Newsletter: https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/Brian’s Bluesky.Ryan’s Bluesky.Articles Mentioned in this Episodehttps://atlpresscollective.com/2026/07/28/flock-cameras-atlanta-clearance-rates/https://ij.org/police-have-reportedly-used-license-plate-readers-to-stalk-romantic-interests-at-least-14-times-in-recent-years/https://www.commondreams.org/news/police-abusing-flock-camerashttps://immpolicytracking.org/policies/reported-ice-accessing-flock-automated-license-plate-reader-cameras-via-local-law-enforcement/https://cybernews.com/privacy/de-flock-america-halloween-flock-surveillance-cameras/https://www.cnet.com/home/security/flocks-ai-cameras-may-have-misread-over-70-of-license-plates-creating-new-headaches-for-cities/https://www.404media.co/flock-taught-cops-how-to-surveil-no-kings-protesters/https://www.gadgetreview.com/flock-safety-employees-watched-kids-gymnastics-room-to-pitch-surveillance-techhttps://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/05/she-got-abortion-so-texas-cop-used-83000-cameras-track-her-downhttps://deflocktheusa.com/cancellations/ Get full access to Blood in the Machine at www.bloodinthemachine.com/subscribe

End Times Fascism by Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor. Naomi Klein’s Newsletter, Patterns.Astra Taylor on BlueskyBlood in the Machine Newsletter: Brian’s Bluesky.Producer Ryan’s Newsletter: Ryan’s Bluesky.Articles mentioned in this episode:The Automation Charade by Astra Taylor.The politics and possibilities of ‘AI could kill us all’ by Brian.More:https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-and-nationalism-are-a-deadly-combinationhttps://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/the-ai-jobs-apocalypse-is-for-thehttps://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/saudi-arabia-and-us-sign-strategic-artificial-intelligence-partnership-2623228https://theconversation.com/iran-war-shows-how-ai-speeds-up-military-kill-chains-278492https://influence.citationneeded.news/https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdfhttps://www.axios.com/2025/09/17/anthropic-dario-amodei-p-doom-25-percenthttps://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5926181-xai-naacp-memphis-grok/ Get full access to Blood in the Machine at www.bloodinthemachine.com/subscribe

AI executives like Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Sam Altman have been forecasting an incipient AI jobs apocalypse for three years now. So where is it? Well it’s here, kind of. But instead of replacing tens of millions of workers, it’s mostly making them miserable.Across the US, workers are souring on AI, and they’re increasingly outspoken about it. A new report from Glassdoor documents how workers are becoming more and more negative towards —at the moment that AI CEOs have promised that the products would be making everyone’s working life easier and more streamlined. Yet the data paints a pretty clear picture: Just as people are getting fed up with data centers, Meta AI glasses, and AI in general, they’re getting angrier about bosses pushing AI on them in the workplace, too. To discuss all this and more, I’m joined by Alex Hanna. Hanna is a sociologist, a director at the Distributed AI Research Institute, and the co-author of the AI Con; she’s also behind the Luddite Lab, a project that provides resources to workers who are navigating AI in the workplace. Blood in the Machine Newsletter: https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/ Brian’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bcmerchant.bsky.social Producer Ryan’s Newsletter: https://www.thestorieswetell.co/ Ryan’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thestorieswetell.coAlex Hanna’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/alexhanna.bsky.social The Luddite Lab: https://labor.dair-institute.org/primers Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 Podcast: https://dair-institute.org/maiht3k/ Articles mentioned in this episode:https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/why-office-workers-are-turning-againsthttps://www.glassdoor.com/blog/how-workers-feel-about-ai-2026/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/02/we-have-had-enough-thousands-of-staff-at-the-university-of-sydney-walk-off-the-job-over-ai-job-securityhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/nyregion/ai-ban-schools-nyc.htmlhttps://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-04/unions-urge-newsom-california-lawmakers-to-rein-in-aihttps://www.pen-guild.org/news/pen-guild-wins-landmark-arbitration-on-ai-protectionshttps://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/why-ai-pilots-rarely-deliver-valuehttps://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/amazon-cuts-jobs-its-artificial-general-intelligence-group-2026-07-22/https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-coo-andrew-macdonald-ai-token-spending-harder-justify-2026-5?op=1https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/after-firing-700-employees-for-ai-swedish-company-admits-their-mistake-and-plans-to-rehire-humans-what-happened/articleshow/121252776.cms Get full access to Blood in the Machine at www.bloodinthemachine.com/subscribe