🤖 AI isn’t ‘hallucinating.’ We are.

Why 'hallucination' is a problematic term (hint - it's not just because it anthropomorphizes the technology!) and what to do about it.

Hi there, and welcome back to Untangled, a newsletter and podcast about technology, people, and power. May has been a fun month:

• In the latest special issue of Untangled, I asked the uncomfortable question: uh, what even is ‘technology’? Then I spent 3,000 words trying to answer it. 🙃

• I offered a behind-the-scenes look at Untangled HQ. I shared what I’ve learned, how Untangled has grown, and where I hope it will go in the future. Plus I extended a personal offer, from me to you.

• For paid subscribers, I posed the question, “What even is ‘information’?” and dug into the problems of metaphors. Then I analyzed an alternative metaphor for AI offered by Ted Chiang in The New Yorker: management consulting firms.

This month I decided to answer the important question: is AI ‘hallucinating’ or are we? If you enjoy the essay or found the pieces above valuable, sign up for the paid edition. Your contributions make a real difference!

Now, on to the show.