The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want

Dr. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR). A sociologist by training, her work centers on the data used in new computational technologies, and the ways in which these data exacerbate racial, gender, and class inequality. She also works in the area of social movements, focusing on the dynamics of anti-racist campus protest in the US and Canada. She holds a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics and a BA in Sociology from Purdue University, and an MS and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Is artificial intelligence going to take over the world? Have big tech scientists created an artificial lifeform that can think on its own? Is it going to put authors, artists, and others out of business? Are we about to enter an age where computers are better than humans at everything?The answer to these questions, we respond: is “no,” “they wish,” “LOL,” and “definitely not.” This kind of thinking is a symptom of a phenomenon known as “AI hype.” Hype looks and smells fishy: It twists words and helps the rich get richer by justifying data theft, motivating surveillance capitalism, and devaluing human creativity in order to replace meaningful work with jobs that treat people like machines. In this talk, I discuss our book The AI Con, (coauthored with Dr. Emily M. Bender), which offers a sharp, witty, and wide-ranging take-down of AI hype across its many forms. We show you how to spot AI hype, how to deconstruct it, and how to expose the power grabs it aims to hide. Armed with these tools, you will be prepared to push back against AI hype at work, as a consumer in the marketplace, as a skeptical newsreader, and as a citizen holding policymakers to account. Together, we expose AI hype for what it is: a mask for Big Tech’s drive for profit, with little concern for who it affects. This session is moderated by Courtney Block and Frans Albarillo.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/irdl-speakerseries-2025/1000/thumbnail.jp

The AI Regulatory Pyramid: A Taxonomy & Analysis of the Emerging Toolbox in the Global Race for the Regulation and Governance of Artificial Intelligence

This Article presents a taxonomy and a framework for the emerging AI governance system. The range of solutions and approaches between softer and harder, collaborative and adversarial private-public regulation, is neither binary nor static but rather dynamic and varied across contexts. AI regulation necessitates a multifaceted approach as well as attention to skill-building, market competition, and infrastructure. A balanced, rational debate about the costs and benefits, risks and potential of AI is crucial to ensuring that regulators are attentive to the entire range within their regulatory toolbox and are open to experimentation, research, and investment in AI for good

Annual GHG Emissions in CO2e From Turfgrass Maintenance in Los Angeles County

Maintaining turfgrass landscapes - including mowing, irrigation, and fertilization - is an under-recognized source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides. The state of California has ambitious policies to reduce GHG emissions and improve local air quality, however, southern California continues to be one of the most polluted regions in the world; moreover, it is an arid region that relies heavily on imported water to meet diverse user needs. To better understand the significance of turfgrass maintenance as a source of GHG emissions, we calculate the total annual GHG emissions in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emitted from maintaining turfgrass across Los Angeles County (LAC), a geographically large and populous region in coastal southern California. To calculate total annual GHG emissions from turfgrass maintenance in LAC, we combine 1) a spatial analysis of maintained turfgrass landscapes in Los Angeles with 2) behavioral data on the frequency and amount of mowing, irrigation, and fertilization for each turfgrass zone - residential, commercial, public parks, golf courses, college campus and private parks, and cemeteries - and 3) published GHG emissions per area of turfgrass from each of these activities. We find that turfgrass maintenance in LAC produces approximately 536±176 metric kilotons of CO2e per year, which is equivalent to a year’s worth of emission from 119,280 passenger vehicles. Although college campuses/private parks and cemeteries had the highest emissions from maintenance per area per year, residential turfgrass landscapes are responsible for the most GHG emissions because they comprise by far the largest total area of maintained turfgrass in LAC. In contrast to previous work, which most often finds that mowing is the greatest source of GHG emissions, irrigation was the most significant source of GHG emissions in nearly all turfgrass zones due to the large quantities of imported water and variable terrain over which water is transported in the region. Findings indicate that reducing the total area of maintained turfgrass and the intensity of management could lead to significant reductions in emissions and support water conservation efforts in the state; however, turfgrass reductions should be focused on non-functional areas with care taken to avoid furthering inequalities in access to urban greenspaces

Making the Invisible Visible: Intersectional Perspectives of Artist Identity and Multiple Sclerosis in the US Healthcare System

The intersection of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), systemic healthcare disparities, and art-making remains underexplored within the arts and health literature. While research often highlights the therapeutic benefits of creative expression, it rarely examines how art-making empowers individuals with MS. This study addresses this gap by exploring: (1) how MS influences participants’ art practice, (2) how art impacts the participants’ experiences of MS, and (3) how individuals navigate the United States healthcare system. The research centers on women and gender expansive individuals and takes an intersectional lens to better understand marginalized experiences of those living with MS. These underrepresented groups frequently encounter healthcare environments that overlook their unique needs, contributing to an experience of disempowerment and invisibility. Through a participatory action research (PAR) approach using photovoice (Wang & Burris, 1997), this study invites artists living with MS to document their experiences, not only as patients but also as creative agents. By positioning participants as co-researchers with agency over their narratives, this study reveals how art-making fosters self-advocacy and emotional resilience. This project aims to inform healthcare policy and arts-based therapeutic practices, demonstrating the transformative potential of creative processes in building a more inclusive, equitable healthcare landscape

The Ecoformative and Transformative Issues of Nature in the Schoolyard: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Everyday Experiences of Nature and Well-being at School

In urban areas, the implementation of schoolyard facilities (especially through the greening of these spaces) aims to promote children\u27s contact with nature to improve well-being and increase their awareness of environmental preservation. In this study, we use the prospect of schoolyard landscaping in two French schools to conduct research on pupils’ relationship with nature and well-being at school. We explore cognitive and social mechanisms that affect children\u27s perceptions and behaviour in their relationships with nature on a daily basis and in the school context, with a view toward implementing schoolyard designs. The research aims are (i) to gain a better understanding of the perceptions and uses that shape children\u27s day-to-day interactions, (ii) to document their perceived well-being in the school environment, and (iii) to elicit pupils\u27 views on changes to the school grounds, in order to better understand the characteristics and dynamics underlying the organisation of direct and sensitive relationships with nature. The results of this study are intended to contribute to an understanding of the issues, obstacles and levers involved in implementing schoolyard development projects, and to provide input for a reflective approach to these initiatives. The results show that children\u27s daily experiences of nature are constructed at the convergence of direct contact with the environment and the social framework that supports these interactions. These experiences foster the construction of perceptions and links with the natural environment, which reciprocally feed into further experience. The presence of nature in school grounds directly promotes pupils\u27 perceived well-being; a greater degree of experience and appreciation of nature positively influences it. We observe a lack of explicit recognition of nature\u27s contribution to well-being and examine the social and contextual reasons behind this, as well as the impact on pupils\u27 choices about schoolground planning. We then discuss the limits of urban policies based on schoolyard modifications and explore ways of including social-ecological relationships through children’s participation

Open Access Journals

Browse LMU’s collection of open access journals, edited by students, faculty, and staff. These peer-reviewed publications feature original research and scholarship across a variety of disciplines.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/home_slideshow/1012/thumbnail.jp

Urban Tree Committees of New England, USA: Describing Past, Present, and Future Regional Trends

In the United States, grassroots responses have emerged to supplement urban forest management efforts traditionally led by local, county, and federal governments. Urban tree committees are one such grassroots response, whose service exists between a formalized organization and ad-hoc task force. While past research has described the roles and responsibilities of various urban forest management actors, no studies have previously established a baseline understanding of regional urban tree committees, including the membership of paid and volunteer committees, their programming and educational initiatives, and key audiences. In this study, we distributed a participant survey to all known urban tree committees of the six state area of New England, a subregion that shares a highly urbanized land cover, bucolic exurban landscapes, and unique political systems. Our study successfully recruited representation across small and large cities of each New England state. Findings are summarized in three sections: an overview that describes urban committees by geography and the timeline/ motivators of committee formation; 2) the workplace operations typical to urban tree committees, including types of organizations and their mission statements, personnel composition, meeting frequency and operational guidance, and sources of funding; and 3) the programs, activities, and participants engaged by urban tree committees. This study identifies the presence and prominence of urban tree committees throughout the New England region, elucidates the ongoing need for resident engagement in local natural resources management, and highlights the reliance on unpaid personnel in the municipal governance structure. Cities of similar sizes may share more in common than those of different sizes in the same state – and there is significant opportunity for cross-disciplinary research and practice to build upon existing regional strengths

The Seed Pile Project - A Reflection

We conducted a community-science project in Northern California - the Seed Pile Project - with three broad goals: 1) to test which locally-native, seed-dispersed plants would thrive without intervention in human-occupied spaces, 2) to engage the public with the often-ignored biodiversity along our roadsides, sidewalks, and other highly-disturbed spaces, and 3) to create community around rewilding our urban areas. We conducted the project initially as a pilot project in 2020-2021, then as a community-science project in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. The project design was intentionally simple to make it accessible for participants of all ages: participants received free packets of native, local-ecotype plant seeds, then dropped them into piles in their neighborhoods or commuting routes. We provided data-entry forms and seed identification guides, and participants took note of which species germinated and monitored them until they died, as well as what types of disturbances occurred at their piles’ locations. The project had successes and challenges: we reached more than a thousand participants and gave out more than a hundred pounds of seed and had a well-attended kick-off event. We set up seed pickup points throughout our area, engaging local businesses and organizations. However, we faced challenges retaining participant engagement through the duration of the project and did not collect compelling data about plant species success. Our key challenges related to data entry, in particular the format and functionality of the data forms, as well as how much information to ask for. We will discuss these successes and challenges in this paper and suggest future directions and improvements for the project going forward