AI girlfriends are everywhere. So why are the humans they're replacing being pushed off the internet?

This is a chapter from Internet Hate Machine host Bridget Todd’s new Simon & Schuster audiobook, Love at First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy. 

In this conversation, Bridget sit down with 404 Media cofounder Samantha Cole to unpack the booming business of AI companions, sex bots, and erotic role play. They explore why tech companies are racing to build AI girlfriends while human sex workers continue to face censorship, deplatforming, and financial discrimination. 

It's a conversation about labor, consent, power, and what happens when Big Tech decides to monetize our most intimate relationships.

If you enjoy this episode, you can find Love at First Prompt wherever audiobooks are sold, or learn more at LoveAtFirstPrompt.AI. 

AI girlfriends are everywhere. So why are the humans they're replacing being pushed off the internet?
This is a chapter from Internet Hate Machine host Bridget Todd&rsquo;s new Simon &amp; Schuster audiobook, Love at First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy.&nbsp;
In this conversation, Bridget sit down with 404 Media cofounder Samantha Cole to unpack the booming business of AI companions, sex bots, and erotic role play. They explore why tech companies are racing to build AI girlfriends while human sex workers continue to face censorship, deplatforming, and financial discrimination.&nbsp;
It's a conversation about labor, consent, power, and what happens when Big Tech decides to monetize our most intimate relationships.
If you enjoy this episode, you can find Love at First Prompt wherever audiobooks are sold, or learn more at <a href="http://loveatfirstprompt.ai">LoveAtFirstPrompt.AI</a>.&nbsp;

AI Girlfriends Aren't About Love. They're About Profit.

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/63ce3616-a01a-4f69-b91e-b48a017582ab/transcript

Tech shapes almost every aspect of our daily lives. And yet the tech we use has been controlled by a select few for far too long. On the new show B the Way Forward, Bridget talks to AnitaB.org's President and CEO Brenda Darden Wilkerson about challenging this disparity head-on. Let’s reclaim our digital agency, redefine tech, and create a future where those who create tech truly mirror the faces of those who use it.

Tech shapes almost every aspect of our daily lives. And yet the tech we use has been controlled by a select few for far too long. On the new show <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpod.link%2F1708366625&amp;data=05%7C01%7CSophieLichterman%40iheartmedia.com%7C6581cfb680e947cbba3a08dbcf37946f%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C638331609882500836%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=LHXURSeQdwNWRkxcSZ2qobW18pHOYLtBw2m%2B8oMeZ0Q%3D&amp;reserved=0">B the Way Forward</a>, Bridget talks to <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fanitab.org%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7CSophieLichterman%40iheartmedia.com%7C6581cfb680e947cbba3a08dbcf37946f%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C638331609882500836%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=qeiPoI0L%2FeuC1Y37OYpOc4Zvyb4z4F1rycXCCOgPr9g%3D&amp;reserved=0">AnitaB.org</a>'s President and CEO Brenda Darden Wilkerson about challenging this disparity head-on. Let’s reclaim our digital agency, redefine tech, and create a future where those who create tech truly mirror the faces of those who use it.

Digital Defiance with B the Way Forward's Brenda Darden Wilkerson

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/de9db7c6-bf25-4a82-9b28-b09e0161aa5d/transcript

In the final episode of Internet Hate Machine, we look back on where we’ve been and where we’re going. Plus some big news from Cool Zone Media!

In the final episode of Internet Hate Machine, we look back on where we’ve been and where we’re going. Plus some big news from Cool Zone Media!

Internet Hate Machine May Be Over,  But The Conversation Continues

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d72cacbb-7668-49cd-bdd3-af9c000f9fbb/transcript

Ifeoma Ozoma has spent her career trying to make the internet safer. At Pinterest, she created clear content policies that earned the company praise. In return, she was targeted and doxxed by a white supremacist colleague, and then retaliated against by management when she spoke up. She talks with Bridget about the Sisyphean struggle of Black women trying to make a difference.

Ifeoma Ozoma has spent her career trying to make the internet safer. At Pinterest, she created clear content policies that earned the company praise. In return, she was targeted and doxxed by a white supremacist colleague, and then retaliated against by management when she spoke up. She talks with Bridget about the Sisyphean struggle of Black women trying to make a difference.

Ifeoma Ozoma: The Woman Who Is Trying to Make Tech Safer, Even If It Costs Her

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6bf6c4f2-fc42-49c6-9519-af94014708ef/transcript

Bridget is joined by James Stout to discuss Cecilia Lewis, a Maryland educator who was targeted and run out of Georgia after being hired to lead a DEI program in Cherokee County schools, thanks to a cooked up moral panic about Critical Race Theory.

"Why the Black Educator Forced Out Over Bogus Critical Race Theory Claims Agreed to Share Her Story": https://www.propublica.org/article/cecelia-lewis-educator-cherokee-georgia

Bridget is joined by James Stout to discuss Cecilia Lewis, a Maryland educator who was targeted and run out of Georgia after being hired to lead a DEI program in Cherokee County schools, thanks to a cooked up moral panic about Critical Race Theory.
"Why the Black Educator Forced Out Over Bogus Critical Race Theory Claims Agreed to Share Her Story": <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/cecelia-lewis-educator-cherokee-georgia">https://www.propublica.org/article/cecelia-lewis-educator-cherokee-georgia</a>

Cecelia Lewis: The Manufactured Moral Panic Around Critical Race Theory

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6c32afba-fe96-4de7-86e3-af8e0014d682/transcript

Bridget is joined by BuzzFeed's Ellie Hall to discuss the online hate campaign facing Meghan Markle and the harassment Ellie herself has faced for reporting on it.

Refinery 29's: "I Went Undercover In The Sinister World Of Meghan Markle Hate Accounts" 

Ellie’s viral BuzzFeed piece about Royal double standards (all of her reporting is great though!):
"People Are Once Again Calling Out A Royal Double Standard After Harry And Meghan Got Attacked For Holding Hands At The Queen’s Lying-In-State"

Bridget is joined by BuzzFeed's Ellie Hall to discuss the online hate campaign facing Meghan Markle and the harassment Ellie herself has faced for reporting on it.
Refinery 29's: "<a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/06/10521988/megxit-meghan-markle-anti-fandom">I Went Undercover In The Sinister World Of Meghan Markle Hate Accounts</a>"  Ellie’s viral BuzzFeed piece about Royal double standards (all of her reporting is great though!): "<a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/harry-meghan-hand-holding-zara-mike-tindall">People Are Once Again Calling Out A Royal Double Standard After Harry And Meghan Got Attacked For Holding Hands At The Queen’s Lying-In-State</a>"

Meghan Markle: Inside the Racist, Sexist Online Hate Campaign Targeting the Royals

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bc9fbd9a-d8ee-479b-9796-af8601630391/transcript

Ruby Freeman & Shaye Moss are heroes for their testimony before the Jan 6th commission, but they shouldn’t have to be. In part two of this episode, Bridget continues her conversation with The Daily Zeitgeist’s Miles Gray, discussing what happened when the disgraced president and the right wing digital media ecosystem coalesced to attack Black women for simply doing their jobs as poll workers during the 2020 election.

Ruby Freeman &amp; Shaye Moss are heroes for their testimony before the Jan 6th commission, but they shouldn’t have to be. In part two of this episode, Bridget continues her conversation with The Daily Zeitgeist’s Miles Gray, discussing what happened when the disgraced president and the right wing digital media ecosystem coalesced to attack Black women for simply doing their jobs as poll workers during the 2020 election.

Part Two: Why Trump Targeted Two Black Election Workers

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b3c64068-68f9-4d6e-aabe-af7f017020a5/transcript

Ruby Freeman & Shaye Moss are heroes for their testimony before the Jan 6th commission, but they shouldn’t have to be. The Daily Zeitgeist’s Miles Gray joins Bridget to discuss what happened when the disgraced president and the right wing digital media ecosystem coalesced to attack Black women for simply doing their jobs as poll workers during the 2020 election.

Ruby Freeman &amp; Shaye Moss are heroes for their testimony before the Jan 6th commission, but they shouldn’t have to be. The Daily Zeitgeist’s Miles Gray joins Bridget to discuss what happened when the disgraced president and the right wing digital media ecosystem coalesced to attack Black women for simply doing their jobs as poll workers during the 2020 election.

Part One: Why Trump Targeted Two Black Election Workers

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/8bdbcfbc-6cfe-412a-8040-af71015c0875/transcript

The moral panic around the film Cuties explains why so many right wing extremists are using the “groomer” “child predator” attack to smear their enemies today

The moral panic around the film Cuties explains why so many right wing extremists are using the “groomer” “child predator” attack to smear their enemies today

Cuties Movie QAnon Controversy Explains Our Current Moment

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/15679629-1d93-4cfc-ba60-af6b0042facd/transcript

On her other tech podcast There Are No Girls on the Internet, Bridget explored how Elon Musk keeps trying to make fetch happen with the “Twitter Files,” by releasing internal Twitter emails about content moderation decisions on the platform before he took over as CEO. 

But here’s why it’s not the bombshell he says it is.

On her other tech podcast There Are No Girls on the Internet, Bridget explored how Elon Musk keeps trying to make fetch happen with the “Twitter Files,” by releasing internal Twitter emails about content moderation decisions on the platform before he took over as CEO. But here’s why it’s not the bombshell he says it is.

Bonus Episode - Elon Musk’s  "Twitter Files" Are A Whole Lot of Nothing

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6e6c64ac-c1ef-48f2-83aa-af66016edf79/transcript

Bridget Todd explains how bad actors use the internet to target and silence marginalized people, especially Black women. Excluding them from discourse and desensitizing us to sexist, racist attacks makes us all less safe. Bridget talks with people who have been the targets of coordinated attacks, activists who are fighting back, and experts to help break down the deliberate agenda behind it.

Bridget Todd explains how bad actors use the internet to target and silence marginalized people, especially Black women. Excluding them from discourse and desensitizing us to sexist, racist attacks makes us all less safe. Bridget talks with people who have been the targets of coordinated attacks, activists who are fighting back, and experts to help break down the deliberate agenda behind it.

Internet Hate Machine

Social links:

Follow the podcast:

20 clip(s)