The Unaccountability Machine

Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions - and How The World Lost its Mind

'A corporation, or a government department isn't a conscious being, but it is an artificial intelligence. It has the capability to take decisions which are completely distinct from the intentions of any of the people who compose it. And under stressful conditions, it can go stark raving mad.'

When we avoid taking a decision, what happens to it? In The Unaccountability Machine, Dan Davies examines why markets, institutions and even governments systematically generate outcomes that everyone involved claims not to want. He casts new light on the writing of Stafford Beer, a legendary economist who argued in the 1950s that we should regard organisations as artificial intelligences, capable of taking decisions that are distinct from the intentions of their members.

Management cybernetics was Beer's science of applying self-regulation in organisational settings, but it was largely ignored - with the result being the political and economic crises that that we see today. With his signature blend of cynicism and journalistic rigour, Davies looks at what's gone wrong, and what might have been, had the world listened to Stafford Beer when it had the chance.

©2024 Dan Davies (P)2024 Profile Books

Illuminating.

Dan Davies weaves a convincing, human story, with measured mercy for the typical bad actors. Instead, he navigates evolving economics, politics, psychology and cybernetics to offer a compelling frame of our times.

Insightful

Some really interesting perspectives on why so many organizations and leaders are pretty much unaccountable for their actions. It outlines why corporations have been described as articial intelligences, with decisions often being made automatically via processes, procedures and algorithms.