Historian Jill Lepore says Silicon Valley misreads science fiction and undermines democracy
Harvard historian Jill Lepore warns that tech companies are replacing democratic governments with an artificial state ruled by algorithms.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Harvard historian Jill Lepore warns Silicon Valley is building an artificial state that undermines democracy.
- She argues tech leaders misread pulp science fiction and comic books to shape their real-world visions.
- Key milestones include Apple's 1984 Macintosh ad and recent talks about an AI-powered US president.
- Private corporations have gradually taken over government functions without public consent.
Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore recently discussed her upcoming book, “The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State,” on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She warned that technology companies are increasingly taking over the functions of democratic governments, marking a return to tyranny through rule by algorithms and machines.
Lepore, a Pulitzer Prize winner for her work on the U.S. Constitution, clarified that she is not anti-technology. Instead, her core criticism targets how private corporations have assumed state responsibilities, driven by charismatic leaders influenced by misinterpreted science fiction and comic books.
“What's funny about Musk is, the stuff he likes actually completely defeats and defies all of his political beliefs.”
Jill Lepore
Tracing back the roots of technocratic promises, Lepore pointed to January 1984, when Apple aired its famous Macintosh Super Bowl commercial themed around George Orwell’s 1984. Apple framed massive IBM mainframe computers as totalitarian regimes, positioning the personal Macintosh as the liberating tool that would shatter machine rule.
The concept of the "artificial state" highlighted by Lepore captures a growing academic concern over how digital platforms and tech giants accumulate quasi-governmental powers. Over decades, what started as a drive for administrative efficiency and speed has evolved into a structural usurpation of the nation-state, raising profound questions about public accountability and the future of democratic governance.
Fast-forwarding to recent years, Lepore pointed to examples such as Facebook establishing a Supreme Court in 2016, Anthropic hiring a moral philosopher to write an AI constitution last year, and Sam Altman telling Joe Rogan that an AI president would be a great idea.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
While these examples might seem like playful or silly instances, Lepore emphasizes that Silicon Valley executives are seriously adopting the trappings of nation-states and democratic functions without possessing a sophisticated political philosophy to back them up.
Source: TechCrunch
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