Woodrow Hartzog
Researcher
4
MENTIONS
4
EPISODES
4
PODCASTS
Search complete. 4 mentions across 4 episodes found for "Woodrow Hartzog".
Oct 14, 2026
Daniel SoloveHOST
AI slop is everywhere, but what exactly is AI slop? We're seeing a torrent of images and texts that appear to be AI generated, and it's causing a lot of problems, this deluge of AI generated stuff.
Daniel SoloveHOST
I have here with me Jessica Silbey and Woodrow Hartzog, who have written a paper all about AI slop, about how we should understand it, define it, and what we should do about it.
Daniel SoloveHOST
How do we distinguish AI slop from good information? And how do we curtail AI slop when it starts wreaking havoc? So I'd like to begin by asking you a little bit before we even get to the definition of the term, because that's actually pretty complicated.
Daniel SoloveHOST
Where did this originate? Where did we start hearing this term? Because now it's inescapable.
Greg AllenHOST
So this is a huge part of the debate in AI regulation right now.
Greg AllenHOST
There was a good quote in The New York Times from an interview with Woodrow Hartzog, who's a professor at BU Law, I believe.
Greg AllenHOST
And he said, quote, "Worst case scenario, they," meaning the big AI companies, "have massive liability on both the criminal and civil side.
Greg AllenHOST
We haven't seen the firm-busting case yet, but I could envision it." End quote.
Dawn FlickingerNARRATOR
On Wednesday, an investigation by the FTC into potential liability for harm to consumers became public, and on Thursday, California's attorney general said the state had served a subpoena to OpenAI as part of a broader inquiry into cybersecurity incidents and risks involving the company and its models.
Dawn FlickingerNARRATOR
Given the relative lack of safeguards around AI, the legal drumbeat is likely to continue, said Woodrow Hartzog, a law professor at Boston University who studies technology law.
Dawn FlickingerNARRATOR
Worst case scenario, they have massive liability on both the criminal and civil side, just depending on the facts of the individual case, he said.
Dawn FlickingerNARRATOR
We haven't seen the firm-busting case yet, but I would envision it.
Jane WingNARRATOR
Its argument is that a constantly blinking light could eventually become so commonplace that people stop noticing it.
Jane WingNARRATOR
But that logic risks putting society in a perpetual game of catch-up, says Woodrow Hartzog, a professor of law at Boston University.
Jane WingNARRATOR
Tech companies have an incredible ability to push these tools out faster than society can meaningfully acclimate to the threat, he says.
Jane WingNARRATOR
By the time society catches up, there's already a degree of normalisation.