This chapter introduces GenAIuflecting: the reflexive, undemocratic ceding of power and policy to AI companies based on extraordinary, often speculative claims. It argues that this deference is a pattern – from the government uncritically accepting fictional job creation figures to granting major contracts and privileges, such as offering an enterprise AI system to the entire US government for one dollar per agency. At the core of this pattern is AI illiteracy among policymakers and the resulting belief in GenAI exceptionalism, the idea that generative AI (GenAI) deserves special treatment not granted to other industries or even human creators.

The text details how GenAIuflecting manifests across four critical domains: environmental, safety, security, and intellectual property. The chapter concludes by highlighting the dangerous self-reinforcing cycle of concessions, warning that this dynamic is not inevitable but a set of choices serving powerful interests at the expense of workers, creators, communities, and citizens’ safety.