Pulitzer Prize‑winning Harvard historian and New Yorker writer Jill Lepore develops in her forthcoming book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, the argument that large technology companies are increasingly taking on functions normally associated with democratic governments. Lepore contends that the grand, state‑like language these firms use is not mere rhetoric but signals political consequences in how public life is organized.
Concrete examples and cultural references
Lepore points to concrete examples such as Twitter’s former messaging that likened the platform to a “town hall in your pocket,” Anthropic’s Claude and its published “constitution,” and remarks by Sam Altman about an “AI president.” She connects these with cultural touchstones including the classic 1984 Macintosh advertisement. Lepore also draws on literature: E. M. Forster’s 1909 science‑fiction story “The Machine Stops,” which she argues outlines a blueprint for an artificial state and now reads, in her words, like “the diary of a very unhappy YouTuber.”
Conflating technological advancement with political progress
Lepore’s central claim is that tech leaders often mistake technical innovation for political progress. Platform algorithms and distribution systems can distort the public’s view of the electorate, and social networks — Facebook among them — can displace local journalism and civic forums. When private companies begin to perform de facto public functions, questions of responsibility, accountability and public oversight arise.
Why this matters and what the risks are
For Lepore, the issue is practical as well as theoretical: if technology firms assume institutional roles, the usual mechanisms of public accountability and legal governance may not apply. She warns that an artificial state model may be ultimately unsustainable because political communities and legal institutions operate on different bases and with different accountability mechanisms than market actors.
How to rein it in
Lepore argues that the artificial state can and should be constrained, though the book itself lays out the detailed measures more fully. Broadly, she points to the need for regulation, transparency and democratic oversight if the expanding public role of private tech companies is to be brought under control.
Additional context: podcast conversation
Lepore discussed these themes in more detail on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast with Anthony Ha, where she elaborated on the book’s claims and on how Silicon Valley narratives — from the 1984 Macintosh ad to modern AI constitutions — fit into a longer history of imagining technological solutions to political problems.
