AI Could Leave Humans With Less Control as Machines Start Making Our Decisions, Harvard Professor Warns

A Harvard professor cautions that society is accelerating into an era she describes as the 'factory farming of humans' — an outcome some Silicon Valley leaders are helping to build.

How Tech Elites Are Replacing Democratic Governance

Speaking on The New York Times podcast Hard Fork, historian Jill Lepore explores how an 'artificial state' is gradually taking over the classic nation-state and democratic systems, steadily stripping away individual freedom in the process.

This changing global framework shifts power so that public rule operates 'not by the consent of people but by machines that are making decisions', which are ultimately controlled by corporate interests, she noted on the show.

While we have not fully transitioned into an artificial state, Lepore warns that it is rapidly being constructed around us. Key to this shift is the ambition of tech elites who believe their influence takes precedence over democratic institutions and the electorate.

She observed that contemporary industry rhetoric focuses on 'the evanescence of modern liberal democracy, constitutional democracy'. The key figures driving this change dismiss democratic will entirely, she explained, adding: 'Because actually, what the people want is not to have AI and not to have data centers. So that's the crisis.'

The 'Factory Farming' and Isolation of Human Life

This concept forms the core of Lepore's upcoming book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State. The project grew from a straightforward query sparked by modern daily life, where automated systems handle everything from phone bookings to website customer service: 'Who decided this is a way we should be living?'

The concept represents a regression in which corporate entities controlling digital networks progressively take over public duties. Essential information regarding news, elections and voting options is increasingly filtered through these dominant organisations, evolving from traditional media such as radio and television to the primacy of social media today.

Relying on digital platforms to organise existence drives widespread human separation. When she first introduced the foundation for her upcoming book in a 2024 article for The New Yorker, Lepore defined the artificial state as the 'factory farming of public life, the sorting and segmenting, the isolation and alienation, the destruction of human community'.

A Futurism report notes that artificial intelligence may not be the sole engine of the artificial state, but it is dramatically speeding up its expansion. Rather than conferring with local experts, community members or representatives, individuals increasingly turn to platforms like ChatGPT for political advice.

Meanwhile, AI-generated content drives campaign narratives, automated systems inform choices at every level of governance, and machine learning scales up surveillance by crunching massive datasets collected on the public.

Exposing the 'Bogus Premise' of Silicon Valley Fatalism

Framing artificial intelligence as an inevitable shift is one of the most troubling aspects of tech industry discourse. Lepore labelled this sense of fatalism a 'bogus premise' reliant on key misconceptions.

It relies heavily on the constant refrain that regulation holds back progress, demanding total governmental non-interference. Equally misleading is the assumption that technological progress invariably supports democracy, falsely promising that pressing risks to democratic systems will eventually solve themselves.

Both assertions are false, according to Lepore, who points to identical historical claims made for earlier innovations. 'So now, the AI people come back with the same argument that was made about the internet — the personal computer, the internet, and social media,' she noted during the discussion.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the 'factory farming of humans'?
  It refers to the concept where corporate entities controlling digital networks progressively take over public duties, leading to the isolation and alienation of human communities.
• How are tech elites replacing democratic governance?
  Tech elites are influencing governance by prioritizing their interests over democratic institutions, leading to decisions being made by machines controlled by corporate interests.
• What is the artificial state?
  The artificial state is a concept where automated systems and corporate control replace traditional nation-state functions, diminishing individual freedoms and democratic processes.
• Why is the sense of fatalism in tech industry discourse considered a 'bogus premise'?
  It is considered a 'bogus premise' because it falsely assumes that technological progress will inherently support democracy and that regulation hinders progress, ignoring historical evidence to the contrary.