STORY · MODELLER_
Jill Lepore on 'the artificial state' – why Silicon Valley leaders read bad science fiction
Historian Jill Lepore discusses in her forthcoming book how technology companies are gradually taking on functions traditionally belonging to democratic governments. She criticizes AI leaders such as Anthropic and Sam Altman for portraying technological progress as political progress, and for claiming that AI can make the state unnecessary.
WHY IT MATTERS
Lepore's analysis reveals how the AI industry repeats old political fantasies, and how promises of AI streamlining government functions rest on unrealistic assumptions. This highlights a central danger in how AI leaders understand and articulate their own influence.
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