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Cory Doctorow: AI is a conjuring trick, not a threat to humanity

Cory Doctorow argues that artificial intelligence is a "conjuring trick" and that the perceived intelligence of AI models is an imputation of intentionality by humans, not an inherent quality of the machines. He contends that AI will not make humans obsolete but highlights the significant threat posed by the massive investment bubble surrounding AI, which he believes is unsustainable and could lead to widespread harm. Doctorow also critiques the concept of "reverse centaurs," individuals conscripted to assist AI systems, as a new form of exploitation. AI

IMPACT Challenges the notion of AI sentience and highlights the economic risks of the AI investment bubble.

RANK_REASON Opinion piece by a named credible voice discussing AI's nature and economic impact.

Read on The Guardian — AI →

AI-generated summary · Google Gemini · from 3 sources. How we write summaries →

Cory Doctorow: AI is a conjuring trick, not a threat to humanity

How we ranked this

Signal score
0 / 100
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Newsworthiness bucket
Commentary
Opinion piece by a named credible voice discussing AI's nature and economic impact.
Source corroboration
3 independent sources
Multiple independent publishers reporting the same story raises confidence that it's real and newsworthy.
Topics
opinion, other
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AI-industry relevance
High
Clearly on-topic for AI-industry coverage.
Story freshness
104 days old
Aged out of breaking-news scoring windows; ranking reflects the durable signal from the full source set.

Full methodology in our editorial standards.

COVERAGE [3]

  1. Mastodon — sigmoid.social TIER_1 English(EN) · [email protected] ·

    ‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the # AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies https://www. theguardian.com/technolog

    ‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the # AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies https://www. theguardian.com/technology/202 6/jun/24/cory-doctorow-on-elon-musk-ai-bubble-bosses-cruel-fantasies # technology

  2. The Guardian — AI TIER_1 English(EN) · Zoe Williams ·

    ‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies

    <p>The writer who coined the word ‘enshittification’ tells us why AI will never deliver what it promises – and why it still appeals so much to those in power</p><p>A “centaur”, in automation theory, is a person assisted by a machine, and a “reverse centaur”, hero of Cory Doctorow…

  3. Mastodon — fosstodon.org TIER_1 English(EN) · [email protected] ·

    🤖 ‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies The writer who coined the word ‘enshit

    🤖 ‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies The writer who coined the word ‘enshittification’ tells us why AI will never deliver what it promises – and why it still appeals so much to those in powerA “c…