AI-critical doc "Ghost in the Machine" screens at SIFF with Emily Bender Q&A (May 10–11)
Seattle director Valerie Veatch's documentary 'Ghost in the Machine' traces a through-line from Microsoft's Tay chatbot and 19th-century eugenicist statisticians through Nazi ideology and Stanford's eugenics legacy to the small group now pursuing AGI with military backing. The Stranger calls it 'required viewing,' describing it as an argument that AI is simultaneously an overhyped VC engine and a tool for techno-fascists who believe in a superhuman intelligence built in their own image.
The film screens at PACCAR IMAX Theater at Pacific Science Center on May 10 and SIFF Cinema Uptown on May 11, as part of the Seattle International Film Festival (May 7–17). Computational linguist Emily Bender — co-author of the influential 'Stochastic Parrots' paper — will participate in post-screening Q&A at both showings, lending the screenings added weight for AI-adjacent audiences.