The Dark Side of Measurement: A Warning for the Future

The way we measure and quantify everything around us has been hailed as a key driver of progress and innovation. However, according to Dr. Jill Lepore, a Harvard professor and staff writer at The New Yorker, this obsession with measurement has a dark side. In her new book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, Lepore argues that our reliance on quantification has led to a dehumanizing effect on society, where human concerns are reduced to artificial structures.

Our reliance on quantification has reduced human concerns to artificial structures, leading to a dehumanizing effect on society.

Lepore's thesis is that this phenomenon has been building over the past century and a half, from the first censuses to the emergence of modern political polling in the 1930s. However, it was the 1980s that saw the rise of the Silicon Valley culture we know today, where computers became personal and targeting became both possible and commonplace. This has led to a situation where bots may be running everything, and Lepore is not optimistic about the future.

But there is a glimmer of hope. Lepore sees a sign of resistance in the recent college graduation ceremony where students booed AI CEOs. This may be a small but significant moment in the pushback against the dehumanizing effects of measurement and quantification. As Lepore notes, systems of power adapt to how people use new technology, and this could be a turning point in the conversation about the role of technology in society.