Few people understand language quite like today's guest. Emily M. Bender is a Professor of Computational Linguistics at the University of Washington. She's also the person who coined the term 'Stochastic Parrots' in the now infamous paper that saw Google fire its Ethical AI lead; and the co-author of The AI Con, a book which is unflinching in its criticism of both AI boosterism and doomerism (in fact she objects to the term AI). I sat down with Emily to discuss topics such as: * How language really works * What LLMs are actually doing * What Stochastic Parrots really means * Why doomers and boosters are two sides of the same, misleading coin Where else you can listen ⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠ [youtube.com/channel/UC1KEYtwPKr5yUv86f7YDB7g/] - https://www.youtube.com/@HumansintheLoopPod ⁠Apple podcasts⁠⁠⁠ [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-in-the-loop/id1831285114] - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-in-the-loop/id1831285114 ⁠Spotify⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/show/4BbslJR0KA5bfqrcYRhJER?si=b5a46211098b4f3e] - https://open.spotify.com/show/4BbslJR0KA5bfqrcYRhJER?si=b5a46211098b4f3e Or wherever you get your podcasts! Chapters 00:00 Introduction to AI and Linguistics 02:54 Understanding Computational Linguistics 05:47 The Stochastic Parrots Paper 08:32 The Implications of AI Terminology 10:57 Skepticism Towards AI Claims 12:58 The Illusion of Intelligence in AI 15:55 The Dangers of AI in Professional Settings 18:33 Democratization and Distrust in AI Development 28:02 Doomers vs. Boosters: The AI Narrative 32:57 Skepticism in AI: A Personal Journey 36:30 The Rapid Evolution of AI: Are We Outdated? 40:13 The Role of Software Engineering in AI 48:14 Automation vs. Human Expertise: A Balancing Act 53:02 Geopolitical Narratives: The AI Arms Race 56:33 The Future of AI: Regulation and Ethical Use 57:44 Pride in Expertise: Understanding Our Value Get in touch ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ [ https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppod] - https://www.instagram.com/humansinthelooppod/ Email: ⁠seb@theuncommonfounder.com⁠ Website: ⁠https://www.theuncommonfounder.com