Gebru and Bender: this summer's AI breakthroughs are marketing, not magic
nordicinst · x · 2026-09-22
In an MIT Technology Review op-ed, Timnit Gebru and Emily Bender argue this summer's flurry of AI "breakthroughs" is largely marketing under scrutiny:
- Anthropic claimed Claude Mythos beats most security experts at finding vulnerabilities
- After the OpenAI–Hugging Face hacking incident, Anthropic (proudly) and Meta (reluctantly) disclosed similar incidents
- Both Anthropic and then OpenAI claimed mathematical breakthroughs by their models
- Anthropic engineer Jacob Coxon went viral leaving the company, saying it and OpenAI are "racing straight towards self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives"
The authors argue the press uncritically repeats companies' anthropomorphizing framings designed to paint the software as incipient AGI, and urge fact-checking and accountable, transparent AI over hype.
Related event: Gebru and Bender Slam This Summer's AI Breakthroughs as Marketing Hype(3 posts)→
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