Critical AI

There is absolutely no good faith reason to use the term “AI” for any technology one is selling.

It serves only for dazzling people into thinking the technology has capabilities that it doesn’t.

If one wants a technology to be trustworthy, just use a transparent, informative term without hype.

M365 Copilot fails to up productivity in UK government trial : AI tech shows promise writing emails or summarizing meetings. Don't bother with anything more complex

How unsurprising!

www.theregister.com/2025/09/04/m...

Gen AI challenges the idea that tech under capitalism means increased productivity, so trade unions should demand a greater share of the benefits. It reveals instead the underlying truth of an all out attack on workers and planet, and a lust for for power at any cost.

ChatGPT cannot write and is an automated plagiarism machine irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2022/12/29/a...

For anyone publishing research here, have you had any experience with AI submissions or AI reviews recently? I have grown a thick skin when it comes to reviews, but a recent AI-written review hit me much harder than any mean review I've received in my 15 years of publishing.

Join us online tonight or in person if you're in London!

As part of the Birkbeck Science Week (www.bbk.ac.uk/annual-event...) I will be giving a talk on "Machine Commands: Society in the Age of AI" on June 11. If you're interested, register here www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event...

As Klarna flips from AI-first to hiring people again, a new landmark survey reveals most AI projects fail to deliver Just 1 in 4 AI investments bring in the ROI they promise—but CEOs just can’t resist the technology.

Managers who think AI can replace human workers usually simply don't understand the nuance of the work. Case in point: fortune.com/2025/05/09/k...

AI: The New Aesthetics of Fascism It's embarrassing, destructive, and looks like shit: AI-generated art is the perfect aesthetic form for the far right.

Gareth Watkins' (@garethwatkins.bsky.social) article on AI aesthetics and fascism has a great explanation for the right's embrace of AI slop newsocialist.org.uk/transmission...

'Careless People' Is the Book About Facebook I've Wanted for a Decade I've reported on Facebook for years and have always wondered: Does Facebook care what it is doing to society? Careless People makes clear it does not.

'Careless People' Is the Book About Facebook I've Wanted for a Decade

Responsible AI Artificial intelligence is transforming society, raising urgent questions about responsibility, ethics, and governance. Responsible AI, hosted by the London AI and Humanity Project, the&nbsp...

The Institute of Philosophy, UoL, is hosting an event on "Responsible AI" (philevents.org/event/show/1...) which might be of interest to some. Check it out.

yeah! what is it about them? 🤔

Apple just paused its AI LLM Siri upgrade indefinitely.

The writing is on the wall.

I think here we have the raw, unfiltered view of how the powerful plan to wield AI systems: as bureaucratic systems with little human oversight.

Five things privacy experts know about AI - Ted is writing things … and that AI salespeople don't want you to know!

This is an excellent primer on some of the privacy dangers posed by large scale AI, from a cybersecurity perspective. Written in clear language, it's the most accessible rundown I've seen yet on these topics!

desfontain.es/blog/privacy...

Labour's AI Action Plan - a gift to the far right | Computer Weekly Critical computing expert Dan McQuillan argues that, on top of the clear social and environmental harms associated with the technology, Labour's vapid fixation on AI-led growth in lieu of real change ...

"Critical computing expert Dan McQuillan argues that, on top of the clear social and environmental harms, Labour's vapid fixation on AI-led growth in lieu of real change will further enable the far right. Instead, he proposes a strategy of 'decomputing'. " www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Labo...

In anticipation of the UK government launching it's much-heralded 'AI Plan' next week, I've just drafted a 3000 word piece titled 'Labour and AI - a gift to the far right'. Looking for an outlet/platform for it; suggestions welcome.

UK proposes letting tech firms use copyrighted work to train AI Consultation suggests opt-out scheme for creatives who don’t want their work used by Google, OpenAI and others

'UK proposes letting tech firms use copyrighted work to train AI' www.theguardian.com/technology/2... creatives won't be the last people sacrificed to this government's 'growth through AI' delusion

YouTube video by Critical AI Can AI hear everyone?

If you missed it, you can now watch a recording of Kinga's talk "Can AI hear everyone?" on youtube youtu.be/1VdZ1hY1Gl4

@lukaszpakula.bsky.social

Kinga's talk is still missing as of now, we haven't received the raw recording yet.

Critical AI

If you've missed any of the recent talks, we now have a YouTube channel (m.youtube.com/@CriticalAI-...) with the recordings!

Hey Lukasz! We have the recordings, I'll just need to find the time to trim and upload them. I'll post here once that's done!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for Kinga's talk last week, both offline and online! We're continuing tomorrow (Dec 03) with Felix' talk on "The AI future sucks" --- hope to see you all!

A flyer with the text "Critical Voices on AI" for the talk "Can AI Hear Everyone" by Kinga Kozminska. The date is November 28, 6:30 PM at the Birkbeck Clore Management Centre in room B01. Below it reads "A BIDA Seminar Series" and asks to vistit critical-ai.uk to register for free and to find upcoming events.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for Joel's talk yesterday, both offline and online! We're continuing next week on Nov with Kinga's talk on "Can AI Hear Everyone?" --- hope to see you all! (also please follow us on@critical-ai.bsky.social, this platform is cursed)

Tonight!

Thanks for everyone who joined us for Alex' talk yesterday, both offline and online! We're continuing next week on Nov 19 with Joel's talk on "Fake Physics and Simulated Worlds" --- hope to see you all!

Google Maps Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

For everyone joining us tonight for Alex' talk, please note the last-minute room change: We will now meet in Room 206 of Birkbeck Central! See you there! maps.app.goo.gl/o1CPJ59tpNpQ...

A flyer with the title "Critical Voices on AI" advertising the talk "Can ChatGPT think?" by Alex Grzankowski on November 14, 6pm in B04 of 43 Gordon Square, London. Further down it reads "A BIDA Seminar Series. Visit Critical-AI.uk to register for free and find upcoming events."

The Critical AI seminar series 2024 finally has new dates. We are starting with Alex Grzankowski's "Can ChatGPT think?" on November 14. See critical-ai.uk for details and dates of the other three talks. #AI #birkbeck #ChatGPT