Ghost in the Machine Probes AI's Eugenics Roots as 6 Tech Firms Ride a Bubble

2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 1

Valerie Veatch’s new documentary frames AI as both a present-day hype cycle and a project with roots in eugenics, arguing its utility remains deeply questionable.
Through interviews with figures including Emily M. Bender, Johnathan Flowers and historian Becca Lewis, the film doubles as a brisk primer on AI history, linking Victorian eugenicist Francis Galton to later Silicon Valley advocates such as William Shockley.
The review says the polemical approach is persuasive but sometimes overly dense, with some threads—such as the experiences of Nairobi-based LLM workers—left underexplained.
A recurring on-screen label marking footage as AI or NOT AI underscores the film’s broader warning: many viewers can no longer reliably tell the difference.

As renowned thinkers declare AI conscious, how do we separate genuine intelligence from a sophisticated, and potentially dangerous, illusion?

Are AI's record profits a sign of revolution, or is the industry just a multi-billion dollar bubble built on hype and fraud?

With its deep roots in eugenics, can AI ever be truly ethical, or is it fundamentally designed to perpetuate discrimination?