PSI Book Club: The AI Con – Joint with ASA Book Club
Date: Friday 12th June 2026
Time: 17:00-18:00 GMT (approx 1 hour)
Location: Online
Who is this event intended for?: This online event is fit for every career stage, from junior statisticians to the senior leadership
What is the benefit of attending?: Discuss ideas and topics from 'The AI Con' with PSI and ASA colleagues
Registration
This event is free to attend for both Members of PSI and Non-Members. To register your place, please click here.
Overview
The Guardian described the authors of this book as refreshingly sarcastic! What is sold to us as AI, they announce, is just "a bill of goods": "A few major well-placed players are poised to accumulate significant wealth by extracting value from other people's creative work, personal data, or labour, and replacing quality services with artificial facsimiles."
The authors' argue that reliance on generative AI models that spit out images and music are not just bad for artists; it's bad for everyone. The fact that internet search results now start with an AI-generated summary, they point out, is likely to dull critical thinking.
Under a broader definition of AI, emerging tools can be helpful in cutting the time required to inspect nuclear facilities and reduce emissions in trucking, shipping, steelmaking and mining industries, and automatically transcribe doctors' notes. The authors present this last example as a bad use of AI, not wanting it to infiltrate the NHS, but could this be a win-win for doctors and patients?
Bender and Hanna insist that each case of AI use should be scrutinised for its utility, the biases it might smuggle in, and its propensity to destroy jobs that depend on human judgment.
Read the book and join the discussion to share your thoughts on the use of AI.