Book in Common

The Book in Common is a shared, community read, designed to promote discussion and understanding of important issues facing the broader community. It is chosen each year by a group of Chico State University and Butte College faculty, staff, students and community members.

The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create The Future We Want

On behalf of the Book in Common Selection Committee, we are excited to announce that the Book in Common for 2026-27 is The AI Con: How To Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want, by Emily Bender and Alex Hanna (2025)

The selection comes amid heightened interest and debate surrounding AI technologies, including within higher education. Co-authored by a University of Washington linguistics professor and a former Google employee, the book takes a critical look at artificial intelligence, exploring how it functions, the realities behind its rapid expansion, and the social, ethical and environmental implications of its use. Topics include the influence of AI on jobs and creative industries, concerns about academic integrity, and the environmental costs associated with large-scale data centers.

The 2026-27 and past Book in Common selections are available for Chico State students, faculty, staff, through the Meriam Library. For Butte County Residents, print and electronic copies are available through the Butte County Library.

Why This Book

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and its entry into virtually all aspects of daily life, the Book in Common Selection Committee agreed that the topic of this book was urgent and of great interest to the communities of Chico State and Butte College, as well as those who live in the North State. The book explains how AI works, where it is being used, the potential benefits and harms of AI, and ways that informed individuals can be part of the decision-making for AI's presence in our 21st-century world. Linguist Emily M. Bender and Sociologist Alex Hanna hone in on the hype that surrounds AI and show the reader how to spot the hype, deconstruct it, and push back against what they argue are “power grabs” that are driven by Big Tech’s quest for profit.

During the nomination and shortlist processes, the Book in Common Selection Committee received extremely positive and enthusiastic recommendations from the campus community for The AI Con: One reader noted, “I feel this is an exceptional and timely book that smartly critiques the AI push across many job markets, affecting artists, academics, and the world at large. The two authors provide a reasoned warning about the implications of what is being sold as a solution to the many problems in professional and academic careers, and the dangers of surrendering too much to the machinations of OpenAI and competing models.” A student respondent shared, “Something else I like about this book is that it is empowering. In a media environment that has induced an incredible amount of anxiety in the general public (myself included), this book gives us a clear-eyed understanding of what is happening. When most of the ubiquitous material we read about AI these days makes it seem wildly out of our control (or even out of human control in general), this book demystifies the issue and puts it back in the realm of where ordinary people can both understand it and deal with it.”

Erik J. Larson, Science and Technology Editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books writes, “The AI Con is not just another attempt to deflate AI hype through argument alone; much of its force depends on a tone that is both straightforward and sharply comical. […]The AI Con reminds us that the fight over AI is not only about technology. It’s also about language, labor, and the stories we choose to tell about the future, which we can humanize rather than surrender to the myriad ways mass automation dehumanizes.”