Emily M. Bender
Computational linguist; lead author of 'On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots'; co-author of 'The AI Con' (2025)
University of Washington
Skeptics
Bender coined 'stochastic parrots' to describe large language models and argues the whole extinction debate is a distraction manufactured by the same companies profiting from AI. She wants regulators to focus on transparency, accountability and the workers and creators whose data and jobs are being taken now.
Declines to give a number
Rejects the framing. With Gebru, McMillan-Major and Mitchell: "It is dangerous to distract ourselves with a fantasized AI-enabled utopia or apocalypse which promises either a 'flourishing' or 'potentially catastrophic' future." (DAIR statement, March 31, 2023)Source
On timing
Argues 'AI' is largely a marketing term and that both 'booster' and 'doomer' narratives share the false premise of AI as an autonomous force; no AGI timeline because she disputes the concept (The AI Con, May 2025).
SourceWhat they call for
- Regulation enforcing transparency
- Accountability for builders' outputs
- Worker protections and data/creator consent
- Resist AI hype in policy
In their own words
Real harms are "worker exploitation and massive data theft to create products that profit a handful of entities", synthetic media, and "the concentration of power in the hands of a few people."
31 March 2023
'The AI Con' (with Alex Hanna) argues the hype cycle 'justifies data extraction, labor exploitation, and diversion from present harms to speculative futures.'
22 May 2025
Signed
- DAIR counter-statement to the FLI pause letter 2023