Jill Lepore warns Silicon Valley's 'artificial state' is undermining democracy
Harvard historian says corporations are quietly replacing democratic government with algorithms and machines.
In her upcoming book “The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State,” Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore warns that private tech corporations are increasingly replacing the functions of democratic government. Speaking on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, she described this shift as “a return to tyranny and mystification in the form of rule by algorithms, corporations, machines.” Lepore traces the idea of government by machines back centuries, arguing that Silicon Valley’s most prominent leaders, especially Elon Musk, are bringing to life a future drawn from misread pulp science fiction and comic books.
Lepore insists she is “not an anti-technologist”—her concern is the purposeful, deliberate corporate usurpation of the nation-state’s role, a process accelerated over the last 25 years. She points to 1990s libertarian futurists who aimed to use the internet to eradicate the nation-state, and notes that Musk’s own preferences “defeat and defy all of his political beliefs.” The conversation also touched on Apple’s “1984” Macintosh ad, why calling Twitter a “digital town hall” is “bananas,” and the growing backlash against data centers. Lepore’s book aims to explore the alternatives and what-ifs that could lead away from this trajectory.
- Jill Lepore's new book argues corporations are replacing democratic state functions with algorithmic rule
- She calls the shift 'a return to tyranny and mystification' and traces its roots to misread science fiction and 1990s libertarian futurism
- Lepore names Elon Musk as a key figure whose actions contradict his own political beliefs
Why It Matters
As AI and tech companies take on governance roles, professionals must understand the democratic stakes of corporate power.