
The Creators of Hacks Really, Really, Really Hate AI
From Uncanny Valley | WIRED by WIRED
May 12, 2026 · 43 min
About this episode
Creators of the HBO Max series Hacks discuss their views on AI and the business of show business.
The hit HBO Max comedy series Hacks follows the tumultuous relationship between a young comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) and legacy comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart). The show has also had a lot to say about the business of show business. Creators Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello join Katie to talk about writing the series, corporate censorship, and why they find AI “deeply disturbing.” Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian’s newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
People in this episode
Host: Katie
Guests: Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello
Topics covered
- comedy
- AI
- show business
- corporate censorship
- technology
- social protests
Keywords
- Hacks
- AI
- comedy writing
- corporate censorship
- show business
- social protests
- technology
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: HBO Max, WIRED, Alexis Ohanian
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