We live in the age of data. Over the past century, rapidly evolving technologies have transformed almost every aspect of our society, in ways that can seem both troubling and unstoppable. Political campaigns have been reduced to attention-mining algorithms, multinational corporations control public discourse, and the era of the liberal nation-state seems to be coming to an end, replaced by the rule of artificial intelligence. In her new book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, historian Jill Lepore asks: what happens to democracy when governments hand more of the decisions that shape our lives to machines – and to the corporations that control them? In this episode, she joins host Mythili Rao to explore how a series of often well-intentioned technological developments brought us to where we are today; why the arrival of ChatGPT marked a historical turning point; and how today’s tech moguls have built infrastructures that increasingly rival the power of the democratic nation-state. By tracing the origins of the ‘Artificial State’, Lepore shows that its rise was never inevitable – and its future isn’t either. She finds hope in growing resistance to the power of AI across the political divide, and says that through organised opposition, we can decide what technology should be for and the future we want it to create. Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She is also a staff writer at the New Yorker. Mythili Rao is a journalist, book critic and podcaster. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related