It's been six months since our last all-Hell episode! In honor of Halloween season, we take a long journey into the very scary Fresh AI Hell mines. Topics include terrifying uses of AI in education, scientific research, and politics — plus, some delicious palate cleansers along the way. Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble: - [Why this analyst says the AI bubble is 17 times bigger than the dot-com bust](https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/18/business/ai-bubble-analyst-nightcap) - Also referenced: [AI Isn't a Superintelligence. It's a Market in Need of Disclosure.](https://www.techpolicy.press/ai-isnt-a-superintelligence-its-a-market-in-need-of-disclosure/) - [OpenAI's ChatGPT is so popular that almost no one will pay for it](https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/15/openais_chatgpt_popular_few_pay/) - [Meta lays off 600 from 'bloated' AI unit as Wang cements leadership](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/22/meta-layoffs-ai.html) - [AI Data Centers Are an Even Bigger Disaster Than Previously Thought](https://futurism.com/future-society/ai-data-centers-finances) - [Public universities anticipating data center-driven power outages](https://bsky.app/profile/kateclancy.bsky.social/post/3m35vtdi2ks2n) - Chaser: [Deloitte to pay money back to Albanese government after using AI in $440,000 report](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/06/deloitte-to-pay-money-back-to-albanese-government-after-using-ai-in-440000-report) I Was a Teenage AI User: - ["AI" schools are "dead classrooms"](https://bsky.app/profile/ajaxsinger.bsky.social/post/3ly4hvyrres2w) - Also referenced: [NYT article](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/podcasts/hardfork-education-alpha-school.html) + [further reporting in Wired](https://www.wired.com/story/ai-teacher-inside-alpha-school/) - [Education report calling for ethical AI use contains over 15 fake sources](https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/09/education-report-calling-for-ethical-ai-use-contains-over-15-fake-sources/) - ['My son genuinely believed it was real': Parents are letting little kids play with AI](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2025/oct/02/ai-children-parenting-creativity) - [a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of 'Synthetic Influencers' to Manipulate Social Media as a Service](https://archive.is/FPZX4) - [AI-powered textbooks fail to make the grade in South Korea](https://restofworld.org/2025/south-korea-ai-textbook/) - Chaser: ["High-reliability" AI slop](https://bsky.app/profile/comraderobot.bsky.social/post/3m3prjlzkj227) Mad Scientists: - [Nature offers "AI-powered research assistant"](https://natureresearchassistant.com/) - [AI bots wrote and reviewed all papers at this conference](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03363-3) - Also referenced: [Previous MAIHT3k episode with Haley Lepp](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/episodes/13704618-episode-17-back-to-school-with-ai-hype-in-education-feat-haley-lepp-september-22-2023) + [previous episode with MJ Crockett and Lisa Messeri](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/episodes/15020029-episode-31-science-is-a-human-endeavor-feat-molly-crockett-and-lisa-messeri-april-15-2024) - ["AI" reviewing at AAAI](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/monettdiaz_aaai26-activity-7387485078563655680-qYSI/) - [AI medical tools downplay symptoms in women and ethnic minorities](https://archive.is/bIpNh) - Also referenced: [Previous MAIHT3k episode with Roxana Daneshjou](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/episodes/13675879-episode-16-med-palm-or-facepalm-a-second-opinion-on-llms-in-healthcare-feat-roxana-daneshjou-august-28-2023) - [Therapists are secretly using ChatGPT](https://archive.is/XRIwW) - Also referenced: [Anat Perry's research](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02247-w) - Chaser: [Microsoft blocks Israel's use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/25/microsoft-blocks-israels-use-of-its-technology-in-mass-surveillance-of-palestinians) - Also referenced: [No Azure for Apartheid](https://noazureforapartheid.com/) Twelve Angry LLMs: - [German initiative uses "AI" for voter education](https://bsky.app/profile/bildoperationen.bsky.social/post/3m3ubhhqvo22p) - [Flock's Gunshot Detection Microphones Will Start Listening for Human Voices](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/10/flocks-gunshot-detection-microphones-will-start-listening-human-voices) - [SF launched an AI chatbot for RV dwellers. It's got errors.](https://missionlocal.org/2025/10/s-f-launched-an-ai-chatbot-for-rv-dwellers-its-got-errors/) - Also referenced: [NYC’s AI Chatbot Tells Businesses to Break the Law](https://themarkup.org/news/2024/03/29/nycs-ai-chatbot-tells-businesses-to-break-the-law) - [Cuomo campaign posts racist AI slop](https://bsky.app/profile/premthakker.bsky.social/post/3m3t2yfppjk2f) - [DHS Ordered OpenAI To Share User Data In First Known Warrant For ChatGPT Prompts](https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2025/10/20/openai-ordered-to-unmask-writer-of-prompts/) - Chaser: [LA County moves to limit license plate tracking, citing CalMatters report](https://calmatters.org/economy/technology/2025/10/los-angeles-license-plate-reader-reform/) Aaahh!!! TESCREAL Monsters: - [A new form of straight up eugenics](https://x.com/sponceym/status/1980660198441447568?s=46) - [Hundreds of Power Players, From Steve Wozniak to Steve Bannon, Just Signed a Letter Calling for Prohibition on Development of AI Superintelligence](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/steve-wozniak-steve-bannon-letter-ai-superintelligence) - [ Emad Mostaque's LLM blurbs](https://bsky.app/profile/emilymbender.bsky.social/post/3lydlt77ayj2h) - [Prizes must recognize machine contributions to discovery](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03217-y) - Chaser: [The hot new trend in marketing: hating on AI](https://www.businessinsider.com/brands-reject-ai-aerie-heineken-polaroid-marketing-2025-10) Check out future streams on [Twitch](https://www.twitch.tv/dair_institute). Meanwhile, [send us any AI Hell you see](https://thecon.ai/submit-fresh-ai-hell/). Our book, *The AI Con*, is out now! Get your copy [here](https://thecon.ai/). Subscribe to our newsletter [via Buttondown](https://buttondown.com/maiht3k). Follow Emily: [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/emilymbender.bsky.social)/[Mastodon](https://dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender) Follow Alex: [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/alexhanna.bsky.social)/[Mastodon](https://dair-community.social/@alex) Music by Toby Menon. Artwork by [Naomi Pleasure-Park](https://naomipleasurepark.com/). Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.
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