Crunching the Numbers (with Decca Muldowney), 2025.10.20

So-called AI tools are increasingly infiltrating newsrooms, particularly when it comes to data analysis. DAIR writer-in-residence Decca Muldowney joins us to discuss the need for journalists to distinguish between "AI" and reliable, verifiable research methods.Decca Muldowney is a journalist and writer who was our fact checker for The AI Con. She's also a writer-in-residence and web editor at the Distributed AI Research Institute.References:An early AI pioneer shares how the "vibe coding" revolution could reshape data journalismAmerica's top companies keep talking about AI — but can't explain the upsidesAnalysis: 96.2% of Climate News Stories Don't Cover Animal Agriculture as a Pollution SourceFresh AI Hell:Teen Sues Maker of Fake-Nude SoftwareChatGPT's Hail Mary: Chatbots You Can FuckGitLaw announces "Vibe Lawyering"Salesforce Offers Its Services to Boost Trump’s Immigration ForceTowns are saying no to AI data centers. One got sued over it.Rent a Cyber Friend will pay you to talk to strangers onlineThe Wire's David Simon is over itCheck out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Find our book The AI Con here, and MAIHT3k merch here.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown.Follow us!EmilyBluesky: emilymbender.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBenderAlexBluesky: alexhanna.bsky.socialMastodon: dair-community.social/@alexTwitter: @alexhannaMusic by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.