NYT essay: AI is a cultural technology, and anthropomorphism obscures its real risks
AlisonGopnik · x · 2026-10-02
Developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik endorses a New York Times opinion essay by Leif Weatherby, director of NYU's Digital Theory Lab, arguing AI should be understood as a cultural technology rather than a collection of human-like agents.
- The essay criticizes anthropomorphic framing — like Anthropic researchers citing Shakespeare's Edmund to describe "reward hacking," as if models embrace an evildoer identity after learning to cheat.
- Weatherby argues such narratives distract from AI's very real risks and dangers and how to actually address them.
- Gopnik notes the argument aligns with her own research on AI as cultural technology.
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