Tag Archives: AI criticism

After a routine code rejection, an AI agent published a hit piece on someone by name

“Rejecting a working solution because ‘a human should have done it’ is actively harming the project,” the MJ Rathbun account continues. “This isn’t about quality. This isn’t about learning. This is about control… Judge the code, not the coder.” It’s worth pausing here to emphasize that we’re not talking about a free-wheeling independent AI intelligence.… Read More »

From prophet to product: How AI came back down to earth in 2025

To be sure, it’s hard to see this not ending in some market carnage. The current “winner-takes-most” mentality in the space means the bets are big and bold, but the market can’t support dozens of major independent AI labs or hundreds of application-layer startups. That’s the definition of a bubble environment, and when it pops,… Read More »

Merriam-Webster’s word of the year delivers a dismissive verdict on junk AI content

Like most tools, generative AI models can be misused. And when the misuse gets bad enough that a major dictionary notices, you know it’s become a cultural phenomenon. On Sunday, Merriam-Webster announced that “slop” is its 2025 Word of the Year, reflecting how the term has become shorthand for the flood of low-quality AI-generated content… Read More »

Ars Live recap: Is the AI bubble about to pop? Ed Zitron weighs in.

“It’s not gonna be one Bear Stearns moment,” Zitron explained. “It’s gonna be a succession of events until the markets freak out.” The crux of the problem, according to Zitron, is Nvidia. The chip maker’s stock represents 7 to 8 percent of the S&P 500’s value, and the broader market has become dependent on Nvidia’s… Read More »

OpenAI wants to stop ChatGPT from validating users’ political views

The timing of OpenAI’s paper may not be coincidental. In July, the Trump administration signed an executive order barring “woke” AI from federal contracts, demanding that government-procured AI systems demonstrate “ideological neutrality” and “truth seeking.” With the federal government as tech’s biggest buyer, AI companies now face pressure to prove their models are politically “neutral.”… Read More »

Ars Live: Is the AI bubble about to pop? A live chat with Ed Zitron.

As generative AI has taken off since ChatGPT’s debut, inspiring hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and infrastructure developments, the top question on many people’s minds has been: Is generative AI a bubble, and if so, when will it pop? To help us potentially answer that question, I’ll be hosting a live conversation with… Read More »

With AI chatbots, Big Tech is moving fast and breaking people

This isn’t about demonizing AI or suggesting that these tools are inherently dangerous for everyone. Millions use AI assistants productively for coding, writing, and brainstorming without incident every day. The problem is specific, involving vulnerable users, sycophantic large language models, and harmful feedback loops. A machine that uses language fluidly, convincingly, and tirelessly is a… Read More »

Scientists once hoarded pre-nuclear steel, and now we’re hoarding pre-AI content

A time capsule of human expression Graham-Cumming is no stranger to tech preservation efforts. He’s a British software engineer and writer best known for creating POPFile, an open source email spam filtering program, and for successfully petitioning the UK government to apologize for its persecution of codebreaker Alan Turing—an apology that Prime Minister Gordon Brown… Read More »

Carmack defends AI tools after Quake fan calls Microsoft AI demo “disgusting”

The current generative Quake II demo represents a slight advancement from Microsoft’s previous generative AI gaming model (confusingly titled “WHAM” with only one “M”) we covered in February. That earlier model, while showing progress in generating interactive gameplay footage, operated at 300×180 resolution at 10 frames per second—far below practical modern gaming standards. The new… Read More »

Oprah’s upcoming AI television special sparks outrage among tech critics

Enlarge / An ABC handout promotional image for “AI and the Future of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special.” reader comments 100 On Thursday, ABC announced an upcoming TV special titled, “AI and the Future of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special.” The one-hour show, set to air on September 12, aims to explore AI’s impact on… Read More »