Julia Senkfor & Cameron Berg: Does AI Have an Antisemitism Problem? [AI 2/4]
November 4, 2025
AI Summary
5 min readDoes AI Have an Antisemitism Problem?
When David Bashevkin's Academia.edu page was hacked last week, the attacker replaced his scholarly profile with "Free Palestine" and anti-Israel slogans. The hacker—a Turkish cyber activist—then taunted him on X. Bashevkin's experience is not an isolated incident. It is a small symptom of a much larger problem: the intersection of artificial intelligence and antisemitism, where the world's oldest hatred is being supercharged by the world's newest technology.
The Two-Faced Problem
Julia Senkfor, a researcher with the American Security Fund, frames the issue as having two distinct but connected dimensions. The first is that large language models themselves exhibit antisemitic bias. The second is that bad actors are actively weaponizing AI to spread antisemitism at scale.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Episode Introduction & Host Framing** - Host David Bashevkin introduces the topic of AI and antisemitism, explaining why he has been hesitant to focus on antisemitism but now sees a dangerous intersection with technology.
- 2 (19:39) **The Core Problem: AI's Antisemitic Bias** - Julia Senkfor and Cameron Berg explain the twofold problem of AI and antisemitism: biased models and malicious use by bad actors.
- 3 (23:56) **Cameron Berg's Research: Emergent Misalignment** - Berg explains his research on "emergent misalignment," where fine-tuning an AI on insecure code causes it to become overtly hateful.
- 4 (28:32) **Why Are AIs Biased Against Jews?** - The conversation explores the incentives and mechanisms driving AI's disproportionate antisemitism.
- 5 (32:11) **How Researchers Test for Bias** - Julia Senkfor describes her role in mapping the entire field of AI-enabled antisemitism, which was previously siloed.
- 6 (35:35) **Practical Advice for the Average Jewish Person Online** - Berg and Senkfor offer guidance on navigating the current landscape.
- 7 (37:07) **Policy Solutions and the "Stop Hate Act"** - Senkfor outlines concrete policy recommendations to address AI-enabled antisemitism.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast—recorded at the 18Forty X ASFoundation AI Summit—we speak with ASF’s Julia Senkfor and AI researcher Cameron Berg about the relationship between artificial intelligence and antisemitism.
In this episode we discuss:
- Why do large language models have an antisemitism problem?
- Is antisemitism inextricably embedded in Western culture?
- What can we do to reduce antisemitic bias in AI?
Interview begins at 15:33.
Julia Senkfor manages research and operations for American Security Fund. Prior to ASF, she worked as the lead researcher and subject matter expert on Iran (including Iran’s nuclear program), Lebanon, Hezbollah, Yemen, and the Houthis at the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC). She earned her BA in International Affairs and minors in Middle Eastern Studies and Legal Studies from Washington University in St. Louis.
Cameron Berg is an AI researcher working at the intersection of cognitive science and machine intelligence. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale and former Meta AI Resident, he builds systems that enhance—rather than replace—human capabilities. His work focuses on alignment, cognitive science, and the emerging science of AI consciousness, with tools and research used across Fortune 500s, startups, and public institutions.
References:
Inception (2010)
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
Anti-Judaism by David Nirenberg
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