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The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State
“Lepore is our best scholar of the culture of governance. … Here she repudiates the prospect of AI as a replacement for democracy. This is the issue of our times … Lepore is the voice of sanity.”—Jaron Lanier, author of
You Are Not a Gadget
“Much in history is headlong but few grand transformations have been more precipitate or more heedless than the rise of … the Artificial State,” writes Jill Lepore in this passionate account of how rule by machine has ravaged the world. Inspired by Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism, which argued in 1951 that the machinery of modern life was reshaping the very fundamentals of human existence, Lepore, profoundly disturbed by the technology revolution and by the soulless inundation of artificial intelligence, unfurls a new history for our own twenty-first century.
Building on an essay in The New Yorker in 2024, Lepore’s clarion call traces our increasing dependence on and strangulation by data. Political campaigns, awash in an avalanche of fake bots, have been reduced to attention-mining algorithms, while multinational media corporations dictate public discourse, and the era of the liberal nation-state seems to be coming to a rapid end, replaced by billionaire technocrats reliant on autocracy and the tools of AI.
With Orwellian overtones, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State demonstrates how technology has corroded global democracy, leading to the destruction of both human community and capacity for self-government, creating a new form of AI government, a digital citizen’s assembly, where AI will recommend the course of action to humans in place of human-run legislatures. Especially sobering with this proliferation of “dizzying, ever-changing schemes, prophesies, and predictions” is that the Artificial State has come at the expense of the natural world, leading to catastrophic loss of wildlife habitat and biodiversity.
Deliberately alarming, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, despite its abundance of dire facts, is not a funeral dirge; rather, it’s an inspiring wake-up call, written in Lepore’s typically elegiac prose, which demonstrates that nothing about the Artificial State was inevitable, for it is a “government without consent, even government without humans.” It can, Lepore asserts, be dismantled. Other heinous systems, like feudalism, fascism, and slavery, have also been dismantled, but disassembly requires identifying the parts, tracing the sources. It requires telling a new history. This is the purpose of The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.
“Much in history is headlong but few grand transformations have been more precipitate or more heedless than the rise of … the Artificial State,” writes Jill Lepore in this passionate account of how rule by machine has ravaged the world. Inspired by Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism, which argued in 1951 that the machinery of modern life was reshaping the very fundamentals of human existence, Lepore, profoundly disturbed by the technology revolution and by the soulless inundation of artificial intelligence, unfurls a new history for our own twenty-first century.
Building on an essay in The New Yorker in 2024, Lepore’s clarion call traces our increasing dependence on and strangulation by data. Political campaigns, awash in an avalanche of fake bots, have been reduced to attention-mining algorithms, while multinational media corporations dictate public discourse, and the era of the liberal nation-state seems to be coming to a rapid end, replaced by billionaire technocrats reliant on autocracy and the tools of AI.
With Orwellian overtones, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State demonstrates how technology has corroded global democracy, leading to the destruction of both human community and capacity for self-government, creating a new form of AI government, a digital citizen’s assembly, where AI will recommend the course of action to humans in place of human-run legislatures. Especially sobering with this proliferation of “dizzying, ever-changing schemes, prophesies, and predictions” is that the Artificial State has come at the expense of the natural world, leading to catastrophic loss of wildlife habitat and biodiversity.
Deliberately alarming, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, despite its abundance of dire facts, is not a funeral dirge; rather, it’s an inspiring wake-up call, written in Lepore’s typically elegiac prose, which demonstrates that nothing about the Artificial State was inevitable, for it is a “government without consent, even government without humans.” It can, Lepore asserts, be dismantled. Other heinous systems, like feudalism, fascism, and slavery, have also been dismantled, but disassembly requires identifying the parts, tracing the sources. It requires telling a new history. This is the purpose of The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.
9 pages, Audible Audio
First published August 25, 2026
About the author
Jill Lepore
41 books1,672 followersJill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History, Harvard College Professor, and chair of Harvard's History and Literature Program. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker.
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Award for the best non-fiction book on race, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; The Name of War (Knopf, 1998), winner of the Bancroft Prize, the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize, and the Berkshire Prize and a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Award.
A co-founder of the magazine Common-place, Lepore’s essays and reviews have also appeared in the New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement, American Scholar, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Daily Beast, the Journal of American History and American Quarterly. Her research has been funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Pew Foundation, the Gilder Lehrman Institute, the Charles Warren Center, and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. She has served as a consultant for the National Park Service and currently serves on the boards of the National Portrait Gallery and the Society of American Historians.
Jill lives in Cambridge,Massachusetts.
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Award for the best non-fiction book on race, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; The Name of War (Knopf, 1998), winner of the Bancroft Prize, the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize, and the Berkshire Prize and a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Award.
A co-founder of the magazine Common-place, Lepore’s essays and reviews have also appeared in the New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement, American Scholar, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Daily Beast, the Journal of American History and American Quarterly. Her research has been funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Pew Foundation, the Gilder Lehrman Institute, the Charles Warren Center, and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. She has served as a consultant for the National Park Service and currently serves on the boards of the National Portrait Gallery and the Society of American Historians.
Jill lives in Cambridge,Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
3.5
Jill Lepore's most recent books — on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution — have considered American history with an eye toward exploring how well we have lived up to the letter and the spirit of our founding documents. Her conclusion: We’ve done some things well and some things poorly or not at all. Now, however, we seem to have found ourselves on a downward slope when it comes to protecting the rights and wellbeing of our citizens. Many things have contributed to the corrosion of our liberal democracy — money, polarization, political calcification, wealth inequality, intransigence — but it’s become clear that technology is amplifying and accelerating the decline. And we -- as citizens, as humans -- have no control over development or implementation. This is the subject of her alarming new book.
Inspired by Hanna Arendt’s sombre writings about totalitarianism and automation, Lepore describes her task here as “an inquiry into what humans mean and intend in abandoning constitutional democracy, the liberal nation-state, and even humanity itself for rule by automation, government by machine, and replacement by artificial intelligence.”
The idea of liberal democracy government given us by the Age of Enlightenment and the Founders, she notes, is one in which the people actively deliberate and interact in order to plan and create a system that will “promote the safety and happiness of the people.” In other words, government by consent of the governed. It is not in itself a natural phenomenon, of course, but rather an artifice, made, monitored, and modified by humans.
The “artificial state,” on the other hand, is shaped not by humans but by data and algorithms and a vast concentration of wealth and power. It is “not something made by man but something nonhuman, something beyond human, something inhuman: the rule of humans by machines manufactured by corporations.”
It is a massive change — an existential threat to democracy. A small group of incredibly wealthy men (yes, they're all men) are shaping policy at the highest levels and designing and implementing technologies that will have enormous and possibly dangerous impacts on our lives. Think of it this way: no one is being asked to vote on or give consent to “government without consent, even government without humans.” Or to ubiquitous surveillance, AI-driven autonomous weaponry, AI anything, in fact, or a thousand other things that are happening all around us. Or to a handful of very wealthy tech leaders with enormous influence deciding our future, perhaps even our survival.
Lepore traces the roots of the Artificial State to the Great Depression and the formation by Howard Scott of an organization he called Technocracy, Inc. The profoundly undemocratic premise of the organization was that “only scientists and engineers have the intelligence and education to understand the industrial operations that lie at the heart of twentieth-century life.” (Or: “Popular voting can be largely dispensed with,” they said, because “it is stupid.”)
Technocracy Inc eventually imploded but Scott’s vision was taken up by a man named Joshua Haldeman, who “led mass demonstrations [in New York City] of Technocrats at a time when they wore identical gray suits and drove identical gray cars in what was known as the Gray Fleet.” In time, Haldeman left the United States and his name receded from memory.
The Technocracy movement is gone today but, as Lepore demonstrates, its spirit has been resurrected in a new generation of powerful individuals such as Peter Thiel (PayPal, Palentir), Mark Zuckerberg (“There is no precedent for his ability to monitor, organize and even censor the conversations of two billion people.”), and numerous other self-proclaimed visionaries, including Joshua Haldeman’s grandson, Elon Musk.
Lepore’s book traces how the Artificial State has expanded since the ‘30s: the inescapable collection of data, data manipulation, concentration of power, AI, bots (there are more bots online than real people), deepfakes, monetized extremism, “government by trolling,” the loss of privacy (“By the 2010s it was nearly impossible to participate in any political behavior without supplying one’s data to the very corporations that were undermining democracy”), and more.
She describes where we are heading — where we have found ourselves — this way: Within the Artificial State, nearly every element of public and democratic life—civil society, representative government, an informed citizenry, equality of rights, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and faith in elections—is vulnerable to subversion through the reduction of politics to the digital manipulation of attention-mining algorithms, the trussing of government by corporate-owned digital architecture, the diminishment of citizenship to minutely message-tested online engagement.
It’s a dark picture. In 2023, some 350 scientists and industry leaders signed a single-sentence statement that acknowledged the danger facing us: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from A.I. should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks, such as pandemics and nuclear war.” (Earlier this month -- August 2026 -- more than 1300 experts and technicians published an open letter calling for regulation of AI research.)
Acknowledging an existential threat to human life is one thing; acting on it is something else entirely. “Why build something that you expect will destroy the human race?” Lepore asks. “One answer has to do with the nature of modern capitalism.” Tech firms are investing in or assisting authoritarian states around the world, knowing full well the technology will be used to oppress or even harm their citizens. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei acknowledged the problem in a leaked internal memo. The technology Anthropic was selling would “enrich dictators,” but — he added — “Unfortunately, I think ‘no bad person should ever benefit from our success’ is a pretty difficult principle to run a business on.” (I suppose another way of saying this would be, There's no profit to be made in acting morally so why bother?)
“The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State” sounds a dire, Orwellian warning. Lepore frames the question starkly: “Are humans to abandon government by consent for government by machine?” From where I sit, it’s hard to see how they/we do otherwise. There seems to be little appetite in Washington, DC, and other world capitals for slowing the technology down or regulating AI. There’s too much money being made, and the technology is hard — or impossible — for ordinary people and government officials to understand well enough to regulate (if they even wanted to: in 2025 the Trump White House issued an Executive Order titled “Preventing Woke AI in Federal Government,” whatever that means, if it means anything at all). And yet more and more functions within government (think DOGE) and industry are being transferred from humans to AI-enabled machines.
Lepore contends that the Artificial State is not inevitable. “The Artificial State is a fantasy half built, dreaded, adored, awaited. I also believe it to be doomed.” I wish I shared her confidence.
“Rise and Fall” is based on a series of lectures Lepore has given at Yale and elsewhere and an article she wrote for the New Yorker. Regrettably, the seams show from time to time, leaving the book less smooth and closely argued than others she’s written.
That said, her message is powerful and necessary. On a personal note, I was pleased to see moments where her deep emotional involvement in the subject came through, as in this lovely disclaimer: “A robot did not write this book. I wrote most of this book in the woods, sheltered by trees and serenaded by birdsong, in the company of dogs, cats, sheep, chickens, ducks, and one very old and rickety dying goat, and not far from bears and porcupines, owls and coyotes.”
My thanks to Liveright Publishers and Edelweis+ for providing a digital ARC in return for an honest review.
Jill Lepore's most recent books — on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution — have considered American history with an eye toward exploring how well we have lived up to the letter and the spirit of our founding documents. Her conclusion: We’ve done some things well and some things poorly or not at all. Now, however, we seem to have found ourselves on a downward slope when it comes to protecting the rights and wellbeing of our citizens. Many things have contributed to the corrosion of our liberal democracy — money, polarization, political calcification, wealth inequality, intransigence — but it’s become clear that technology is amplifying and accelerating the decline. And we -- as citizens, as humans -- have no control over development or implementation. This is the subject of her alarming new book.
Inspired by Hanna Arendt’s sombre writings about totalitarianism and automation, Lepore describes her task here as “an inquiry into what humans mean and intend in abandoning constitutional democracy, the liberal nation-state, and even humanity itself for rule by automation, government by machine, and replacement by artificial intelligence.”
The idea of liberal democracy government given us by the Age of Enlightenment and the Founders, she notes, is one in which the people actively deliberate and interact in order to plan and create a system that will “promote the safety and happiness of the people.” In other words, government by consent of the governed. It is not in itself a natural phenomenon, of course, but rather an artifice, made, monitored, and modified by humans.
The “artificial state,” on the other hand, is shaped not by humans but by data and algorithms and a vast concentration of wealth and power. It is “not something made by man but something nonhuman, something beyond human, something inhuman: the rule of humans by machines manufactured by corporations.”
It is a massive change — an existential threat to democracy. A small group of incredibly wealthy men (yes, they're all men) are shaping policy at the highest levels and designing and implementing technologies that will have enormous and possibly dangerous impacts on our lives. Think of it this way: no one is being asked to vote on or give consent to “government without consent, even government without humans.” Or to ubiquitous surveillance, AI-driven autonomous weaponry, AI anything, in fact, or a thousand other things that are happening all around us. Or to a handful of very wealthy tech leaders with enormous influence deciding our future, perhaps even our survival.
Lepore traces the roots of the Artificial State to the Great Depression and the formation by Howard Scott of an organization he called Technocracy, Inc. The profoundly undemocratic premise of the organization was that “only scientists and engineers have the intelligence and education to understand the industrial operations that lie at the heart of twentieth-century life.” (Or: “Popular voting can be largely dispensed with,” they said, because “it is stupid.”)
Technocracy Inc eventually imploded but Scott’s vision was taken up by a man named Joshua Haldeman, who “led mass demonstrations [in New York City] of Technocrats at a time when they wore identical gray suits and drove identical gray cars in what was known as the Gray Fleet.” In time, Haldeman left the United States and his name receded from memory.
The Technocracy movement is gone today but, as Lepore demonstrates, its spirit has been resurrected in a new generation of powerful individuals such as Peter Thiel (PayPal, Palentir), Mark Zuckerberg (“There is no precedent for his ability to monitor, organize and even censor the conversations of two billion people.”), and numerous other self-proclaimed visionaries, including Joshua Haldeman’s grandson, Elon Musk.
Lepore’s book traces how the Artificial State has expanded since the ‘30s: the inescapable collection of data, data manipulation, concentration of power, AI, bots (there are more bots online than real people), deepfakes, monetized extremism, “government by trolling,” the loss of privacy (“By the 2010s it was nearly impossible to participate in any political behavior without supplying one’s data to the very corporations that were undermining democracy”), and more.
She describes where we are heading — where we have found ourselves — this way: Within the Artificial State, nearly every element of public and democratic life—civil society, representative government, an informed citizenry, equality of rights, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and faith in elections—is vulnerable to subversion through the reduction of politics to the digital manipulation of attention-mining algorithms, the trussing of government by corporate-owned digital architecture, the diminishment of citizenship to minutely message-tested online engagement.
It’s a dark picture. In 2023, some 350 scientists and industry leaders signed a single-sentence statement that acknowledged the danger facing us: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from A.I. should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks, such as pandemics and nuclear war.” (Earlier this month -- August 2026 -- more than 1300 experts and technicians published an open letter calling for regulation of AI research.)
Acknowledging an existential threat to human life is one thing; acting on it is something else entirely. “Why build something that you expect will destroy the human race?” Lepore asks. “One answer has to do with the nature of modern capitalism.” Tech firms are investing in or assisting authoritarian states around the world, knowing full well the technology will be used to oppress or even harm their citizens. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei acknowledged the problem in a leaked internal memo. The technology Anthropic was selling would “enrich dictators,” but — he added — “Unfortunately, I think ‘no bad person should ever benefit from our success’ is a pretty difficult principle to run a business on.” (I suppose another way of saying this would be, There's no profit to be made in acting morally so why bother?)
“The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State” sounds a dire, Orwellian warning. Lepore frames the question starkly: “Are humans to abandon government by consent for government by machine?” From where I sit, it’s hard to see how they/we do otherwise. There seems to be little appetite in Washington, DC, and other world capitals for slowing the technology down or regulating AI. There’s too much money being made, and the technology is hard — or impossible — for ordinary people and government officials to understand well enough to regulate (if they even wanted to: in 2025 the Trump White House issued an Executive Order titled “Preventing Woke AI in Federal Government,” whatever that means, if it means anything at all). And yet more and more functions within government (think DOGE) and industry are being transferred from humans to AI-enabled machines.
Lepore contends that the Artificial State is not inevitable. “The Artificial State is a fantasy half built, dreaded, adored, awaited. I also believe it to be doomed.” I wish I shared her confidence.
“Rise and Fall” is based on a series of lectures Lepore has given at Yale and elsewhere and an article she wrote for the New Yorker. Regrettably, the seams show from time to time, leaving the book less smooth and closely argued than others she’s written.
That said, her message is powerful and necessary. On a personal note, I was pleased to see moments where her deep emotional involvement in the subject came through, as in this lovely disclaimer: “A robot did not write this book. I wrote most of this book in the woods, sheltered by trees and serenaded by birdsong, in the company of dogs, cats, sheep, chickens, ducks, and one very old and rickety dying goat, and not far from bears and porcupines, owls and coyotes.”
My thanks to Liveright Publishers and Edelweis+ for providing a digital ARC in return for an honest review.
July 1, 2026
“Building the Artificial State-finally building it, turning a science fiction dystopia into a fully functioning infrastructure—would indeed make Earth uninhabitable. This did not appear to concern the architects of the Artificial State. They had escape plans: Elon Musk to Mars, Mark Zuckerberg to the Metaverse, Peter Thiel to his land in New Zealand, Jeff Bezos to space, Sam Altman's brain uploaded to the cloud.They weren't saving humanity; they were preparing to abandon it.”
The world is being run by idiots and monsters.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.
8/10
The world is being run by idiots and monsters.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.
8/10
August 26, 2026
Not for me but recommend that each reader dive in and make their own decisions on whether or not the book is a good read.
Did Not Finish
August 5, 2026Got my hands on an advanced copy. Currently DNF - really enjoyed the chapters about social media corporations, plus some interesting tidbits about the rise of data collection, but the part II that focused more on science fiction didn’t grab me. This is a personal preference, as I wanted more policy / political analysis instead of a discussion of how robots are treated in fiction. But, that’s not the book LePore wrote, so I really shouldn’t count it against her!
(Side note: while we’re on the portrayal of robots + AI in fiction, I was curious to see that LePore didn’t talk much about the marvel universe, arguably the most popular modern portrayal of it, what with ultron & the algorithm that was going to decide which humans to kill. I feel like she skipped over a lot of 21st century media.)
(Side note: while we’re on the portrayal of robots + AI in fiction, I was curious to see that LePore didn’t talk much about the marvel universe, arguably the most popular modern portrayal of it, what with ultron & the algorithm that was going to decide which humans to kill. I feel like she skipped over a lot of 21st century media.)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In her much-admired style, Jill Lepore discusses the optimistic and pessimistic aspects of the rise of the artificial state throughout history. She clearly understands history, and everything she asserts is well documented. In this book, she describes how the line between human and machine has been blurred and has always been a concern, but certainly not a new phenomenon.
The author traces humanity's desire for machines to perform mundane tasks back to early censuses, when tyrannical rulers had to know how many people they controlled. Likewise, in the US, the development of counting systems that eventually led to modern-day computers has its roots in keeping track of people and has given rise to Social Security numbers and other identifiers. As more data was collected, there were more opportunities to use machines to improve human quality of life. This includes the development of trains and other infrastructure that both connect people and enable machines to perform work more efficiently.
Much of this book reads like a textbook. So, it was more informative than enjoyable. Having said that, some parts gave me pause and made me challenge my assumptions about the definitions and uses of technology in society. My favorite part was the chapter on Twitter and how Obama was among the first presidential candidates to rely heavily on it during a campaign. Then, of course, social media became a part of every future election. Although some claim that social media supports democracy because everyone can weigh in, the author provides evidence to the contrary. Social media can undermine democracy and lead to mistrust in government.
Since I mainly read fiction and learn many valuable lessons from literary artists, I particularly like the way Lepore cites both fictional and scholarly works in her narrative to make her points. She provides many examples of science fiction works that have long acted as cautionary tales and fables, essentially predicting the artificial state that has crept upon us. Contemporary novels and movies serve a great purpose in focusing our attention on the moral quandaries we face.
Many years ago, I read a biography of Isaac Asimov, and it always stuck with me. Through science fiction, Asimov created the Three Laws of Robotics and posed many questions about humans and machines. I loved how Lepore explored his influence in forcing academics and the tech world to consider the use of robots. Lepore draws on Asimov and his contemporaries' work, extrapolating from their questions to show that modern thinkers' current questions about AI have been posed in a variety of ways for a century.
Another theme I appreciated involves Elon Musk and his grandfather, Joshua Haldeman, an American-born activist in the Technocracy movement and an outspoken supporter of South African apartheid. Musk hardly knew his grandfather, but Lepore adeptly shows how some of his grandfather's ideas seem to echo in Musk's worldview. She also spends considerable time discussing Musk and his multifaceted roles in shaping the artificial state. Again, Lepore returns to the book's central questions: What is growth, and to what extent has AI infiltrated government decision-making? Lepore explores these questions from multiple angles.
Jill Lepore's The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State provides some thought-provoking questions. How does change happen? How do we define human, animal, machine, and robot? Have these definitions evolved? What will lead to the demise of humans? Why are there so many stories about humanity's lost sense of purpose and human extinction? Why do societies frequently debate animal personhood? The line between human and machine may be increasingly obscure, but do human beings still have the ability, and the desire to take control?
The author traces humanity's desire for machines to perform mundane tasks back to early censuses, when tyrannical rulers had to know how many people they controlled. Likewise, in the US, the development of counting systems that eventually led to modern-day computers has its roots in keeping track of people and has given rise to Social Security numbers and other identifiers. As more data was collected, there were more opportunities to use machines to improve human quality of life. This includes the development of trains and other infrastructure that both connect people and enable machines to perform work more efficiently.
Much of this book reads like a textbook. So, it was more informative than enjoyable. Having said that, some parts gave me pause and made me challenge my assumptions about the definitions and uses of technology in society. My favorite part was the chapter on Twitter and how Obama was among the first presidential candidates to rely heavily on it during a campaign. Then, of course, social media became a part of every future election. Although some claim that social media supports democracy because everyone can weigh in, the author provides evidence to the contrary. Social media can undermine democracy and lead to mistrust in government.
Since I mainly read fiction and learn many valuable lessons from literary artists, I particularly like the way Lepore cites both fictional and scholarly works in her narrative to make her points. She provides many examples of science fiction works that have long acted as cautionary tales and fables, essentially predicting the artificial state that has crept upon us. Contemporary novels and movies serve a great purpose in focusing our attention on the moral quandaries we face.
Many years ago, I read a biography of Isaac Asimov, and it always stuck with me. Through science fiction, Asimov created the Three Laws of Robotics and posed many questions about humans and machines. I loved how Lepore explored his influence in forcing academics and the tech world to consider the use of robots. Lepore draws on Asimov and his contemporaries' work, extrapolating from their questions to show that modern thinkers' current questions about AI have been posed in a variety of ways for a century.
Another theme I appreciated involves Elon Musk and his grandfather, Joshua Haldeman, an American-born activist in the Technocracy movement and an outspoken supporter of South African apartheid. Musk hardly knew his grandfather, but Lepore adeptly shows how some of his grandfather's ideas seem to echo in Musk's worldview. She also spends considerable time discussing Musk and his multifaceted roles in shaping the artificial state. Again, Lepore returns to the book's central questions: What is growth, and to what extent has AI infiltrated government decision-making? Lepore explores these questions from multiple angles.
Jill Lepore's The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State provides some thought-provoking questions. How does change happen? How do we define human, animal, machine, and robot? Have these definitions evolved? What will lead to the demise of humans? Why are there so many stories about humanity's lost sense of purpose and human extinction? Why do societies frequently debate animal personhood? The line between human and machine may be increasingly obscure, but do human beings still have the ability, and the desire to take control?
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company | Liveright for this advance ARC in return for an honest review.
In the Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, Harvard Professor, Jill Lepore, attempts to address the evils of Artificial Intelligence, and how to combat it, as if it is a political movement like fascism or authoritarianism, the latter being favored by "robots" and the "Artificial State." Her thesis is that the architects of the modern AI movement, Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, et.al. grew up idolizing Science Fiction and Marvel Comics, and therefor the "solution" must lie therein as well.
The first part of this well researched book looks at the rise of the "Artificial State" dating back to the 1600's with Descartes and others involving debate about man v. Animals up to advent of robots and AI computers. While invoking science fiction to create artificial intelligence Lepore harkens to the famous Tweet from an "Onion" author Alex Blechman.
"Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale.
Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create The Torment Nexus."
Along these lines Lepore describes Musk and Altman pro-environment and fearful of AI in the mid 2010's and then suddenly a switch went off with the start of the MAGA movement and throwing caution to the wind they entered into a race to create AI before China did.
The second part of The Artificial State is a look at the history of Science Fiction ( upon which innumerable inventors looked for their inspiration ) as a cautionary tale which were obviously misunderstood or misinterpreted by the likes of Musk and Altman. She looks at turn of the last century works, WE and R.U.R. and how these inspired Sci-Fi authors of the 50's and 60's like Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein to write works including I,Robot and the Foundation Trilogy. The latter, in turn, was mocked by the Douglas Adams in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which was a favorite of young Musk, who, not surprisingly missed the whole point of the book, which in some ways was anti-Apartheid.
Lepore also describes how Sci-Fi writers predicted the end of the human race, and/or the environment etc.
Although fascinating, for someone who also spent much of his youth enamored by Sci-Fi novels, I was hoping for more of a solution to stopping this AI "Race" and the destruction of our environment by the increasing number of data centers cropping up due to deregulations by the Trump Administration. Although Musk, Altman, Bezos and Zuckerberg are all rushing to create the "Torment Nexus" ( as well as their personal escape hatches ) I was hoping for more on how to prevent it whether in Sci-Fi novels or Lepore's own words. With a little more of that this would be 5 Stars.
#TheRiseandFalloftheArtificialState #NetGalley
In the Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, Harvard Professor, Jill Lepore, attempts to address the evils of Artificial Intelligence, and how to combat it, as if it is a political movement like fascism or authoritarianism, the latter being favored by "robots" and the "Artificial State." Her thesis is that the architects of the modern AI movement, Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, et.al. grew up idolizing Science Fiction and Marvel Comics, and therefor the "solution" must lie therein as well.
The first part of this well researched book looks at the rise of the "Artificial State" dating back to the 1600's with Descartes and others involving debate about man v. Animals up to advent of robots and AI computers. While invoking science fiction to create artificial intelligence Lepore harkens to the famous Tweet from an "Onion" author Alex Blechman.
"Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale.
Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create The Torment Nexus."
Along these lines Lepore describes Musk and Altman pro-environment and fearful of AI in the mid 2010's and then suddenly a switch went off with the start of the MAGA movement and throwing caution to the wind they entered into a race to create AI before China did.
The second part of The Artificial State is a look at the history of Science Fiction ( upon which innumerable inventors looked for their inspiration ) as a cautionary tale which were obviously misunderstood or misinterpreted by the likes of Musk and Altman. She looks at turn of the last century works, WE and R.U.R. and how these inspired Sci-Fi authors of the 50's and 60's like Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein to write works including I,Robot and the Foundation Trilogy. The latter, in turn, was mocked by the Douglas Adams in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which was a favorite of young Musk, who, not surprisingly missed the whole point of the book, which in some ways was anti-Apartheid.
Lepore also describes how Sci-Fi writers predicted the end of the human race, and/or the environment etc.
Although fascinating, for someone who also spent much of his youth enamored by Sci-Fi novels, I was hoping for more of a solution to stopping this AI "Race" and the destruction of our environment by the increasing number of data centers cropping up due to deregulations by the Trump Administration. Although Musk, Altman, Bezos and Zuckerberg are all rushing to create the "Torment Nexus" ( as well as their personal escape hatches ) I was hoping for more on how to prevent it whether in Sci-Fi novels or Lepore's own words. With a little more of that this would be 5 Stars.
#TheRiseandFalloftheArtificialState #NetGalley
Review of advance copy
A very important, fascinating, well-executed book. Lepore traces multiple strands of the history behind the current headlong rush to surrender governance of our societies and lives to new technologies--especially artificial intelligence--and the tiny number of ultra-rich individuals who "control" and profit from them, all while destroying the natural world we are part of and on which we depend. Lepore makes clear that this process is not inevitable and can still be reversed. She documents how the tech billionaires driving it have long since abandoned their promises (always hollow) that these technologies would safeguard, even promote democracy and individual liberty and have embraced the false "necessity" of accelerating the development of these technologies in order to save (a very small portion of) humanity from the consequences of developing these very same technologies. She lays out the history of how our thinking about machines, robots, and artificial intelligence has been intertwined with our thinking about our relationship to nature, and especially to animals. And she shows, through a fascinating discussion of the history of science fiction, how the tech billionaires who point to science fiction as the source of their inspirations and ideas have failed to understand the intentions and lessons of the very stories they point to, treating what were meant to be cautionary tales as instruction manuals.
My one frustration with this book is that while Lepore in the beginning expresses her conviction that the artificial state is "doomed," by the end she is arguing that the full realization of the artificial state is not inevitable, that we still have a choice. The latter is an important point, but it is not the same point. If by "doomed" she means that it will either not be fully realized or, if fully realized, will end very badly, in the destruction of its creators or itself or both, as predicted by so many of the cautionary tales of science fiction, I'm not sure how useful, reassuring, or motivating this claim is. Lepore is a historian, so it makes sense that he work looks principally to the past and aims mainly to show how we got here and that this history (like any history) is not inevitable. But given the framing of the book and her deep knowledge of this history, I had hoped for more substantive discussion of what our choices going forward might look like if we hope to avoid the dangers she tells us are not inevitable. Another warning of the dangers of the path we're on as a society and a species, especially a warning as cogent and persuasive as this book, is important and useful. But warnings only get us so far. We need more guidance and leadership. Hopefully those in a better position to offer both will read and learn from this book.
My one frustration with this book is that while Lepore in the beginning expresses her conviction that the artificial state is "doomed," by the end she is arguing that the full realization of the artificial state is not inevitable, that we still have a choice. The latter is an important point, but it is not the same point. If by "doomed" she means that it will either not be fully realized or, if fully realized, will end very badly, in the destruction of its creators or itself or both, as predicted by so many of the cautionary tales of science fiction, I'm not sure how useful, reassuring, or motivating this claim is. Lepore is a historian, so it makes sense that he work looks principally to the past and aims mainly to show how we got here and that this history (like any history) is not inevitable. But given the framing of the book and her deep knowledge of this history, I had hoped for more substantive discussion of what our choices going forward might look like if we hope to avoid the dangers she tells us are not inevitable. Another warning of the dangers of the path we're on as a society and a species, especially a warning as cogent and persuasive as this book, is important and useful. But warnings only get us so far. We need more guidance and leadership. Hopefully those in a better position to offer both will read and learn from this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance listening copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State traces the current obsession with AI all the way back to the beginning of the internet. When the internet was growing there was a lot of excitement and belief that technology could lead to more democracy with people able to share their opinions (on social media like Twitter). There was a belief that more data about people would help to predict who people would vote for and how political campaigns could be targeted. Unfortunately, the opposite has happened with billionaire technocrats now relying on AI, spreading their own agendas, and suppressing democracy. This book discusses the artificial state by explaining how technology was developed and what people had to say about technology. Many theorists warned society about the dangers of technology. In the second half of the book, Lepore discusses how technology/AI has taken the place of animals in media. For example, authors used to write animals as the antagonists in books like The Planet of the Apes but then authors like Philip K. Dick and Douglas Adams wrote about AI.
I think this book is an important read and I will be recommending this book. We need to be aware of AI and the agendas that certain billionaires are trying to push. This book discusses Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel. I’ve never been someone who was interested in AI and for that reason I agree with everything this author says about the issues with AI. The fact that some billionaires have suggested building data centres on other planets or filling the Earth with data centres and then going to live on another planet is just so ridiculous. I really liked learning about the comparison between animals and AI with the way that humans opposed them. This wasn’t the most interesting book to me though because I did already know a lot about Elon Musk and various other things regarding AI but that’s a personal issue as the author needs to include that information to give context to the artificial state. I listened to the audiobook which is read by the author and it was really good. I enjoyed listening and found it easy to follow along. According to this book, people now trust AI more than they do governments and that is so scary to me. This book is important for our current moment and a must read for people to wake up to the dangers of AI as well as a reminder to always verify where you get your information. I’m giving this 3.5 stars rounded down to 3.
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State traces the current obsession with AI all the way back to the beginning of the internet. When the internet was growing there was a lot of excitement and belief that technology could lead to more democracy with people able to share their opinions (on social media like Twitter). There was a belief that more data about people would help to predict who people would vote for and how political campaigns could be targeted. Unfortunately, the opposite has happened with billionaire technocrats now relying on AI, spreading their own agendas, and suppressing democracy. This book discusses the artificial state by explaining how technology was developed and what people had to say about technology. Many theorists warned society about the dangers of technology. In the second half of the book, Lepore discusses how technology/AI has taken the place of animals in media. For example, authors used to write animals as the antagonists in books like The Planet of the Apes but then authors like Philip K. Dick and Douglas Adams wrote about AI.
I think this book is an important read and I will be recommending this book. We need to be aware of AI and the agendas that certain billionaires are trying to push. This book discusses Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel. I’ve never been someone who was interested in AI and for that reason I agree with everything this author says about the issues with AI. The fact that some billionaires have suggested building data centres on other planets or filling the Earth with data centres and then going to live on another planet is just so ridiculous. I really liked learning about the comparison between animals and AI with the way that humans opposed them. This wasn’t the most interesting book to me though because I did already know a lot about Elon Musk and various other things regarding AI but that’s a personal issue as the author needs to include that information to give context to the artificial state. I listened to the audiobook which is read by the author and it was really good. I enjoyed listening and found it easy to follow along. According to this book, people now trust AI more than they do governments and that is so scary to me. This book is important for our current moment and a must read for people to wake up to the dangers of AI as well as a reminder to always verify where you get your information. I’m giving this 3.5 stars rounded down to 3.
August 28, 2026
Prologue: During the timeframe encompassing MiniComputers - I worked for a MiniComputer manufacturer - within the division that created software. In those days software engineers were thought to be the hi tech employees of the day. The culture was that there were Software Engineers and all others……I see/read that culture in this book’s section about the Merchant Princes, the Economist insider’s interview with Elon Musk and other places….there is clearly a lack of adult supervision here…. We need to understand this… in an interview with the economist Youval Hariri (sp) indicated that he believed the 2024 election was about AI - so as to control it. His feeling is that 2028 will be too late to take action.
Review:
As much as a deeply unsettling bleak diagnostic as an urgent “wake up call” for the people to organize themselves so as stop unlimited development of AI without some regulation and protections…The book is an excellent historical examination concerning how data automation and private tech companies are or may be eroding constitutional democracy and may replace the liberal nation-state. this book seems to follow a path started by Shoshanna Zuboff who wrote “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” - The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power 2019. In this book Zuboff describes how she thinks Google and Facebook have created a new economic order that threatens human autonomy, privacy and democracy.
Lepore defines an artificial state where:
Public discourse is shaped and controlled by private tech companies.
Political campaigns are reduced to algorithms.
Governance is increasingly outsourced to unaccountable machines.
Merchant Princes Zuckerberg, and the others…who espouse techno libertarian priorities with little regard for /(contempt of) democracy and the requirement for accountability - versus “move fast and break things”. DOGE as an example.
Positives:
Historical brilliance context and perspective - Lepore’s wheel house.
Urgency - who will govern in 2028?
Shortcomings:
Little discrimination between the associated technologies there is or may a difference between AI, robots, LLM’s - these seem to be discussed in one group. These technologies could be disaggregated
For additional impact analysis.
There are few if any proposed solutions other than don’t do AI..
An important well written book should be read. A book not without some short ominous but should start the conversation on this important topic.
Carl G.
Cgallozzi@comcast.net
Review:
As much as a deeply unsettling bleak diagnostic as an urgent “wake up call” for the people to organize themselves so as stop unlimited development of AI without some regulation and protections…The book is an excellent historical examination concerning how data automation and private tech companies are or may be eroding constitutional democracy and may replace the liberal nation-state. this book seems to follow a path started by Shoshanna Zuboff who wrote “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” - The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power 2019. In this book Zuboff describes how she thinks Google and Facebook have created a new economic order that threatens human autonomy, privacy and democracy.
Lepore defines an artificial state where:
Public discourse is shaped and controlled by private tech companies.
Political campaigns are reduced to algorithms.
Governance is increasingly outsourced to unaccountable machines.
Merchant Princes Zuckerberg, and the others…who espouse techno libertarian priorities with little regard for /(contempt of) democracy and the requirement for accountability - versus “move fast and break things”. DOGE as an example.
Positives:
Historical brilliance context and perspective - Lepore’s wheel house.
Urgency - who will govern in 2028?
Shortcomings:
Little discrimination between the associated technologies there is or may a difference between AI, robots, LLM’s - these seem to be discussed in one group. These technologies could be disaggregated
For additional impact analysis.
There are few if any proposed solutions other than don’t do AI..
An important well written book should be read. A book not without some short ominous but should start the conversation on this important topic.
Carl G.
Cgallozzi@comcast.net
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In a quite pessimistic and scholarly tone, Jill Lepore establishes how we have become an alarmingly artificial technological society and how we might mitigate the damage before the planet is irretrievably harmed. She spends a good portion of the book using science fiction novels and popular movies to illustrate how media has had an influence on the architects of technology. Though I am not much of a science fiction reader, I was aware of most of the authors she mentioned (if not the plots of their books) and thought this was one of the strongest areas of her content. I also loved that she made connections to the natural world and how technology (really since the Industrial Revolution) has had a negative impact on natural ecosystems and the extinction of specific species. The supposed need for more (and even larger) data centers shows that the harm continues now with no regard for the depletion of existing energy supplies, especially water.
The last third of the book was the most interesting to me as Lepore discusses the modern world and the mindsets of the various moneyed CEOs and government leaders who seem to be determined to continue with their plans to "improve" our planet and see to my supposed needs. I wish she had spent more time discussing how we might lessen the damage being done and actually take steps to change technology's direction and uses. As she so astutely (and humorously) states, the billionaires have outs. They can leave a decimated Earth and relocate to a new planet, live in a virtual reality state, or upload themselves to the clouds of data. Her only real advice to me is to unplug, as best I can.
Even though this book builds on some of Lepore's lectures as well as a particular New Yorker magazine essay and should have been readable, I found her writing here to be less accessible and more dense than her usual material and that made it more difficult for me as a reader to maintain much of a connection to her thread as a whole. None of this negates a good reading experience, however, and I did ultimately enjoy the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
#theriseandfalloftheartificialstate
#netgalley
#liveright
The last third of the book was the most interesting to me as Lepore discusses the modern world and the mindsets of the various moneyed CEOs and government leaders who seem to be determined to continue with their plans to "improve" our planet and see to my supposed needs. I wish she had spent more time discussing how we might lessen the damage being done and actually take steps to change technology's direction and uses. As she so astutely (and humorously) states, the billionaires have outs. They can leave a decimated Earth and relocate to a new planet, live in a virtual reality state, or upload themselves to the clouds of data. Her only real advice to me is to unplug, as best I can.
Even though this book builds on some of Lepore's lectures as well as a particular New Yorker magazine essay and should have been readable, I found her writing here to be less accessible and more dense than her usual material and that made it more difficult for me as a reader to maintain much of a connection to her thread as a whole. None of this negates a good reading experience, however, and I did ultimately enjoy the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
#theriseandfalloftheartificialstate
#netgalley
#liveright
August 24, 2026
3.75 ⭐️
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State is an informative, thought-provoking, and, at times, genuinely concerning exploration of artificial intelligence and its relationship to democracy. Jill Lepore makes a compelling case against the idea that AI could or should replace democratic institutions, while also examining the long history of humanity’s fascination with machines and artificial intelligence.
One of my favorite aspects of this book was the historical perspective. Lepore traces the development of AI and machines through different periods and explores how these advancements have influenced culture, society, politics, and our ideas about government. I particularly enjoyed the references to the science fiction and dystopian literature of each era and how those stories reflected the hopes, fears, and general mindset of society as technology continued to evolve.
One of the most interesting—and unsettling—ideas in the book is the contrast between how most people view the rise of an artificial state as a dystopian nightmare, while for a select few, it has increasingly become something closer to a goal. That idea really stuck with me and made the book feel especially relevant to the current moment.
I also found Lepore’s discussion of humanity’s relationship with animals and the natural world fascinating. She draws an intriguing parallel between the way humans have historically viewed and used animals and the possibility that advanced AI or robots could eventually view humans in a similar way. It’s a thought experiment that is both fascinating and deeply uncomfortable.
I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Lepore herself, and I thought her passion and extensive knowledge of the subject added significant weight to her arguments. Her delivery made it clear how deeply she has engaged with these ideas and gave the audiobook an added sense of urgency.
While this wasn't a perfect read for me, I appreciated how much history and context Lepore brings to a conversation that can often feel focused solely on the future. The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State is ultimately a warning about what we risk losing if we begin treating technology as a substitute for the messy, complicated, but essential work of democracy. It left me with a lot to think about—and more than a little concern about where we may be headed.
Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for the ALC and the opportunity to give my honest feedback.
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State is an informative, thought-provoking, and, at times, genuinely concerning exploration of artificial intelligence and its relationship to democracy. Jill Lepore makes a compelling case against the idea that AI could or should replace democratic institutions, while also examining the long history of humanity’s fascination with machines and artificial intelligence.
One of my favorite aspects of this book was the historical perspective. Lepore traces the development of AI and machines through different periods and explores how these advancements have influenced culture, society, politics, and our ideas about government. I particularly enjoyed the references to the science fiction and dystopian literature of each era and how those stories reflected the hopes, fears, and general mindset of society as technology continued to evolve.
One of the most interesting—and unsettling—ideas in the book is the contrast between how most people view the rise of an artificial state as a dystopian nightmare, while for a select few, it has increasingly become something closer to a goal. That idea really stuck with me and made the book feel especially relevant to the current moment.
I also found Lepore’s discussion of humanity’s relationship with animals and the natural world fascinating. She draws an intriguing parallel between the way humans have historically viewed and used animals and the possibility that advanced AI or robots could eventually view humans in a similar way. It’s a thought experiment that is both fascinating and deeply uncomfortable.
I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Lepore herself, and I thought her passion and extensive knowledge of the subject added significant weight to her arguments. Her delivery made it clear how deeply she has engaged with these ideas and gave the audiobook an added sense of urgency.
While this wasn't a perfect read for me, I appreciated how much history and context Lepore brings to a conversation that can often feel focused solely on the future. The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State is ultimately a warning about what we risk losing if we begin treating technology as a substitute for the messy, complicated, but essential work of democracy. It left me with a lot to think about—and more than a little concern about where we may be headed.
Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for the ALC and the opportunity to give my honest feedback.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I received an advance copy through the library I work at, which received it from the publisher.
Historian Jill Lepore's newest work, tracing the wide history and possible future of the artificial state--long discussed in science fiction and philosophy, but gaining much more attention with the rise of artificial intelligence and increasingly powerful computers and data analytics--is just as informative as one would expect given her recent track record. Curiously though, Lepore's writing takes a harder stance against the modern day tech barons (here described as "merchant princes", which is incredibly apt when she explains it, and here very much illuminating how shallow their ideas really are) and the ideas that provide the foundations for their current aims, which were first born in the 19th Century and explored in myriad ways by 20th Century science fiction but trace back to the ideas of governance and personhood explored during the Enlightenment period, than it does against the technology itself. While this may seem incongruous based on, well, the title of the book seeming to be more about government and technology than admittedly important figures, her arguments as a whole coalesce into some notable ideas, such as AI regulation, legal standing for animals and the environment in the face of Anthropocene climate change, and resistance against tyranny. The latter of these drives well-deserved comparisons to Hannah Arendt's works on the fight against fascism, which are necessary reading to understand the state of the world; the comparison also leads to the question of whether or not this book could be considered necessary reading for that same purpose, which will likely be a matter of debate for some time, but in my humble opinion, the answer is yes. In any case, this is a very important book about the intersections of technology and politics that deserves to be widely read and will hopefully (rightfully) get a lot of attention when it releases. Highly recommend.
Historian Jill Lepore's newest work, tracing the wide history and possible future of the artificial state--long discussed in science fiction and philosophy, but gaining much more attention with the rise of artificial intelligence and increasingly powerful computers and data analytics--is just as informative as one would expect given her recent track record. Curiously though, Lepore's writing takes a harder stance against the modern day tech barons (here described as "merchant princes", which is incredibly apt when she explains it, and here very much illuminating how shallow their ideas really are) and the ideas that provide the foundations for their current aims, which were first born in the 19th Century and explored in myriad ways by 20th Century science fiction but trace back to the ideas of governance and personhood explored during the Enlightenment period, than it does against the technology itself. While this may seem incongruous based on, well, the title of the book seeming to be more about government and technology than admittedly important figures, her arguments as a whole coalesce into some notable ideas, such as AI regulation, legal standing for animals and the environment in the face of Anthropocene climate change, and resistance against tyranny. The latter of these drives well-deserved comparisons to Hannah Arendt's works on the fight against fascism, which are necessary reading to understand the state of the world; the comparison also leads to the question of whether or not this book could be considered necessary reading for that same purpose, which will likely be a matter of debate for some time, but in my humble opinion, the answer is yes. In any case, this is a very important book about the intersections of technology and politics that deserves to be widely read and will hopefully (rightfully) get a lot of attention when it releases. Highly recommend.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State takes on the complex task of dissecting the fantasies and realities of an Artificial State. Inspired by themes in Hannah Arendt’s, The Origins of Totalitarianism, Lepore describes the Artificial State as “less a state than a dream of being without one, the dream of the severing of humans not only from the natural world but also from one another.”
Lepore covered a variety of topics within what she defines as the Artificial State, including early history of machines, social media within the political realm, Artificial Intelligence, military technology, and robots. At times it felt difficult to wrap my head around the many concepts, dates, and relevant figures discussed throughout the book. That is also to say that Lepore left no stone unturned with her theoretical and historical discussions of the Artificial State.
Lepore did a fantastic job of comparing the history of technology and artificial development with what we are seeing in the present with the likes of Musk, Altman, and Thiel. Speaking of Musk, the discussion of his grandfather—Joshua Haldeman—and Haldeman’s ties to early Technocracy, anti-Semitism, and South Africa’s apartheid regime were (morbidly) fascinating. Although it is understood that Musk was not close to his grandfather, you can’t help but see how little of a distance the apple fell from the tree when it comes to technofascist fantasies, deranged anti-Semitic conspiracies, and lackluster political tenures.
I would have loved to hear more from Lepore regarding her reflections of what can tangibly be done to combat the rising authoritarianism under the Artificial State. Lepore states optimistically that escaping the Artificial State “requires imagining a different future.” I would love to know more of what this imagined future could look like. And what are the possible paths that can lead us to that future. Instead, I was left with the same feeling I get after finishing an apocalyptic horror movie: wanting to sleep with the lights on.
Lepore covered a variety of topics within what she defines as the Artificial State, including early history of machines, social media within the political realm, Artificial Intelligence, military technology, and robots. At times it felt difficult to wrap my head around the many concepts, dates, and relevant figures discussed throughout the book. That is also to say that Lepore left no stone unturned with her theoretical and historical discussions of the Artificial State.
Lepore did a fantastic job of comparing the history of technology and artificial development with what we are seeing in the present with the likes of Musk, Altman, and Thiel. Speaking of Musk, the discussion of his grandfather—Joshua Haldeman—and Haldeman’s ties to early Technocracy, anti-Semitism, and South Africa’s apartheid regime were (morbidly) fascinating. Although it is understood that Musk was not close to his grandfather, you can’t help but see how little of a distance the apple fell from the tree when it comes to technofascist fantasies, deranged anti-Semitic conspiracies, and lackluster political tenures.
I would have loved to hear more from Lepore regarding her reflections of what can tangibly be done to combat the rising authoritarianism under the Artificial State. Lepore states optimistically that escaping the Artificial State “requires imagining a different future.” I would love to know more of what this imagined future could look like. And what are the possible paths that can lead us to that future. Instead, I was left with the same feeling I get after finishing an apocalyptic horror movie: wanting to sleep with the lights on.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
"The artificial state is not alive; it cannot be killed. But because it is a construct, at once an idea and a thing, something built, if half built, it can be dismantled. Other very stubborn systems for organizing human societies without consent have been dismantled before..."
I have always been impressed with Jill Lepore's writing. She is able to present well researched topics in a way that is accessible to her audience. My experience of reading her previous work combined with the subject matter drew me to this book. Unfortunately, I am only able to give the book an average rating.
The book is broken into two parts.
I found it very hard to concentrate and stay focused for part one of the book. The first half of the book focused on the recent rise of technology and how it has led to what many would consider to be negative outcomes for politics and public discourse. Though I found myself very much in agreement with Lepore's commentary, I struggled to concentrate.
Part two of the book is another story. It was extremely engaging. Lepore presents the history of subjects that include animal rights, robot rights, and whether trees and other natural objects can be considered as persons. If corporations can be considered people, why can't a lake? She takes a detailed look at the history of science fiction and how it has been misinterpreted by today's proponents of AI such as Elon Musk and Sam Altman.
Lepore seems optimistic that society will be able to remedy the grave harm that appears to be looming from the rise of the artificial state, I cannot say that I share her optimism. There is always hope and the righting ability remains for society to make positive adjustments to mistakes, but will we do so in time to avoid catastrophic consequences? Lepore's lit review of science fiction would lead me to believe the answer is no. I hope to be proven wrong.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for and advance reading copy of this book.
I have always been impressed with Jill Lepore's writing. She is able to present well researched topics in a way that is accessible to her audience. My experience of reading her previous work combined with the subject matter drew me to this book. Unfortunately, I am only able to give the book an average rating.
The book is broken into two parts.
I found it very hard to concentrate and stay focused for part one of the book. The first half of the book focused on the recent rise of technology and how it has led to what many would consider to be negative outcomes for politics and public discourse. Though I found myself very much in agreement with Lepore's commentary, I struggled to concentrate.
Part two of the book is another story. It was extremely engaging. Lepore presents the history of subjects that include animal rights, robot rights, and whether trees and other natural objects can be considered as persons. If corporations can be considered people, why can't a lake? She takes a detailed look at the history of science fiction and how it has been misinterpreted by today's proponents of AI such as Elon Musk and Sam Altman.
Lepore seems optimistic that society will be able to remedy the grave harm that appears to be looming from the rise of the artificial state, I cannot say that I share her optimism. There is always hope and the righting ability remains for society to make positive adjustments to mistakes, but will we do so in time to avoid catastrophic consequences? Lepore's lit review of science fiction would lead me to believe the answer is no. I hope to be proven wrong.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for and advance reading copy of this book.
August 24, 2026
Thank you Net Galley and Jill Lepore for letting me listen to an advanced copy for my honest review.
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State is a fascinating look about how the rise of AI has correlated with the fall of democracy. I listened to the audio version of this book, narrated by the author. The pacing of the audio was perfect for me– the only issue I had was that she took long pauses between chapters. At first, I thought my app had glitched and stopped playing because it was so long.
In this book, Lepore details the history of technology in relation to artificial intelligence. I am fascinated by history and I found this very interesting. Many of the figureheads involved in the creation of AI claimed that its emergence would benefit democracy. However, Lepore explains how the opposite is actually true. She makes the claim and provides ample evidence that AI actually benefits authoritarianism more than democracy.
Some of the main points of this argument are proven with the current (Trump) administration and its neglect to implement safeguards when it comes to AI. As Lepore shows, this benefits Trump in many ways and supports his rise in authoritarianism. She also explains that AI deeply benefits capitalism.
I really enjoyed her reflection on science fiction works from the past and how they predicted the downfall of man with the influx in artificial intelligence. These tech bros took the cautionary tales from science fiction works as literal and as advice.
In one chapter of her book, Lepore talks about the possibility of robots taking over man. In her argument, she describes how robots would eventually treat humans how humans treat animals. This chapter was deeply upsetting, and there were some graphic and devastating examples about how humans treat animals. When put into the lens of tech, it becomes even more upsetting.
I hope that everyone reads this book and that it’s eye opening regarding the dangers or further advancing AI.
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State is a fascinating look about how the rise of AI has correlated with the fall of democracy. I listened to the audio version of this book, narrated by the author. The pacing of the audio was perfect for me– the only issue I had was that she took long pauses between chapters. At first, I thought my app had glitched and stopped playing because it was so long.
In this book, Lepore details the history of technology in relation to artificial intelligence. I am fascinated by history and I found this very interesting. Many of the figureheads involved in the creation of AI claimed that its emergence would benefit democracy. However, Lepore explains how the opposite is actually true. She makes the claim and provides ample evidence that AI actually benefits authoritarianism more than democracy.
Some of the main points of this argument are proven with the current (Trump) administration and its neglect to implement safeguards when it comes to AI. As Lepore shows, this benefits Trump in many ways and supports his rise in authoritarianism. She also explains that AI deeply benefits capitalism.
I really enjoyed her reflection on science fiction works from the past and how they predicted the downfall of man with the influx in artificial intelligence. These tech bros took the cautionary tales from science fiction works as literal and as advice.
In one chapter of her book, Lepore talks about the possibility of robots taking over man. In her argument, she describes how robots would eventually treat humans how humans treat animals. This chapter was deeply upsetting, and there were some graphic and devastating examples about how humans treat animals. When put into the lens of tech, it becomes even more upsetting.
I hope that everyone reads this book and that it’s eye opening regarding the dangers or further advancing AI.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Jill Lepore, W.W. Norton, and Netgalley for the ARC. As always, my opinions are my own.
This is an interesting, complicated history of the way that humans have imagined, constructed, and used technology as a frame for our world. Lepore weaves the philosophical and literary history of how humans have thought about animals together with the way that science fiction writers and technocrats have thought about robots and AI, illuminating our anxieties about the beings we use, control, compare ourselves to, and fear destruction from.
As a social scientist by training, I was a little taken aback that she classifies the idea that information about the world can be studied quantitatively as part of the "artificial state," but she's very persuasive in her argument that data science has led to an unhealthy preoccupation with predicting things, rather than deciding how we want them to turn out. She invokes "an alienated, polarized electorate mistrustful of elected officials who in turn are paralyzed by their ability to calculate, in advance, the likely consequences of their actions, down to the last lost primary or donated dollar. Instead of making decisions based on principles or values, legislators and other policymakers make decisions based on predicted outcomes."
Some of the science fiction portions dragged for me, maybe because I'm already very familiar with the genre. But Lepore's indictment of the tech billionaires who see it as their right to shape our society is relentless, eloquent, and devastating. She concludes with a passionate assurance that we can fix things by democratic means. I would have been more comforted had she fleshed out more of a framework for how, but I suppose that's too much to ask from a historian? Anyway, I recommend this strongly to people who want to understand how our current moment is grounded in history and philosophy.
This is an interesting, complicated history of the way that humans have imagined, constructed, and used technology as a frame for our world. Lepore weaves the philosophical and literary history of how humans have thought about animals together with the way that science fiction writers and technocrats have thought about robots and AI, illuminating our anxieties about the beings we use, control, compare ourselves to, and fear destruction from.
As a social scientist by training, I was a little taken aback that she classifies the idea that information about the world can be studied quantitatively as part of the "artificial state," but she's very persuasive in her argument that data science has led to an unhealthy preoccupation with predicting things, rather than deciding how we want them to turn out. She invokes "an alienated, polarized electorate mistrustful of elected officials who in turn are paralyzed by their ability to calculate, in advance, the likely consequences of their actions, down to the last lost primary or donated dollar. Instead of making decisions based on principles or values, legislators and other policymakers make decisions based on predicted outcomes."
Some of the science fiction portions dragged for me, maybe because I'm already very familiar with the genre. But Lepore's indictment of the tech billionaires who see it as their right to shape our society is relentless, eloquent, and devastating. She concludes with a passionate assurance that we can fix things by democratic means. I would have been more comforted had she fleshed out more of a framework for how, but I suppose that's too much to ask from a historian? Anyway, I recommend this strongly to people who want to understand how our current moment is grounded in history and philosophy.
August 25, 2026
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore is a thought-provoking timely nonfiction read that reads like a dystopian novel. Unfortunately, this isn’t a dystopian novel but in fact a well researched and argued look at the impact and history of the rise of AI technology. Jill Lepore’s has such an engaging writing style that reads easily no matter your age or knowledge of computer programing and technology. The development of technology has blurred the line between humans and machine. People are being convinced that AI is necessary and will make life easy. But in reality having just a handful of multi billionaires who are able to use their money and influence to control federal and local governments from legislation all the way up to the Executive office means we are heading into an unprecedented reality of become a technocracy. Growing up watching movies like Robocop, Terminator, I, Robot, Blade Runner and many others, I always thought since we see the terrible things that can happen, as a society, we would prevent such things. But here we are. When one’s dystopian nightmare is another’s utopia and those are the people building the AI revolution and have their money doing all the legislating, it is no wonder we are having such a hard time setting in place guardrails.
I read and listened to this book with Jill Lepore as the narrator. The amount of research and critical thinking Jill Lepore put into writing this book shines through on every page she reads. Her narration felt more like being in a lecture or having a conversation in a group setting. She spoke clear and her cadence was perfect to keep me engaged even with the more technical areas.
This is a very timely read and I highly recommend everyone take time to listen or read The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.
Thank you W.W. Norton & Company, RBmedia, and Jill Lepore for providing the e-ARC and ALC via NetGalley for review. Publication date 8/25/2026.
I read and listened to this book with Jill Lepore as the narrator. The amount of research and critical thinking Jill Lepore put into writing this book shines through on every page she reads. Her narration felt more like being in a lecture or having a conversation in a group setting. She spoke clear and her cadence was perfect to keep me engaged even with the more technical areas.
This is a very timely read and I highly recommend everyone take time to listen or read The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.
Thank you W.W. Norton & Company, RBmedia, and Jill Lepore for providing the e-ARC and ALC via NetGalley for review. Publication date 8/25/2026.
August 20, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley, W.W. Norton and RBmedia for the ARC copies of this book. This was a tandem read of the book and audio versions.
I requested this book without reading that it was a non-fiction book. I thought to myself 'oh wow, that could be a cool dystopian story'. When I was approved for the book and read more about it, finding out it was non-fiction, I was worried. I am not a non-fiction fan (typically). I was worried this book was going to read like an educational book so I was very hesitant. Oh I was SO wrong and VERY happy that I read this.
This book should be required reading. Jill does an excellent way of providing history and explaining how we got where we are today with AI looming over all of us. There were so many events and players leading up to our current artificial state that I was not aware of. Like how did the beginning of gathering census data lead to AI? How did putting animals in zoos and in circuses lead to the disharmonization of nature, animals, and humans? Want to know a few points of hypocrisy and ideocracy of billion and trillionaires? Well this book can answer some of those questions! Though not the main points, definitely intertwined.
The author did the narration herself which I am always very hesitant of because voice actors have this special way of hooking listeners and gathering their attention. Jill did an amazing job at narrating this book. I was engaged the whole time and appreciated the tone and cadence.
Jill highlights warnings that people have been giving for centuries or even newly found warnings that makes you think about what we do next. Thought provoking and unexpectedly funny, this book is poignant and I highly recommend it.
I requested this book without reading that it was a non-fiction book. I thought to myself 'oh wow, that could be a cool dystopian story'. When I was approved for the book and read more about it, finding out it was non-fiction, I was worried. I am not a non-fiction fan (typically). I was worried this book was going to read like an educational book so I was very hesitant. Oh I was SO wrong and VERY happy that I read this.
This book should be required reading. Jill does an excellent way of providing history and explaining how we got where we are today with AI looming over all of us. There were so many events and players leading up to our current artificial state that I was not aware of. Like how did the beginning of gathering census data lead to AI? How did putting animals in zoos and in circuses lead to the disharmonization of nature, animals, and humans? Want to know a few points of hypocrisy and ideocracy of billion and trillionaires? Well this book can answer some of those questions! Though not the main points, definitely intertwined.
The author did the narration herself which I am always very hesitant of because voice actors have this special way of hooking listeners and gathering their attention. Jill did an amazing job at narrating this book. I was engaged the whole time and appreciated the tone and cadence.
Jill highlights warnings that people have been giving for centuries or even newly found warnings that makes you think about what we do next. Thought provoking and unexpectedly funny, this book is poignant and I highly recommend it.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
An in-depth and wide-ranging exploration of the rise of machines and technology (comprising the 'artificial state'). Alongside its rise, the decline and fall of the natural environment, democratic and constitutional governance, and corporate regulation. The "merchant princes" of Silicon Valley pursuing AI have coopted American government, corrupted the environment, and engineered their own perpetuity as the future (their vision at least) is more important than the concerns of the present, living world.
At its heart, this book is a paean to democracy, environmental protection, and engaging fully with the ideas of the past so richly imagined, and so deeply misunderstood by Silicon Valley elites, in classic science fiction. The irrevocable loss of the natural world in favor of the visions set forth by the likes of Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerburg are not inevitable, Lepore argues emphatically in the brief epilogue. We must envision, Lepore says (and I am paraphrasing here), an offramp, a different future and then work to make that a reality. It is an opportunity. A hopeful albeit challenging charge. We have no other home than planet Earth and must save it from our own folly.
The fear of AI and robot apocalypse, as I believe it is with alien invasion, has little to actually do with the rise of these machines and much more to do with the fall, degradation, destruction of nature and the reckoning we as a species must come to terms with the grief, revulsion, and dread over what we have wrought. That is the beating core of this book. And it is wonderfully articulated and argued supported by rich research and history.
At its heart, this book is a paean to democracy, environmental protection, and engaging fully with the ideas of the past so richly imagined, and so deeply misunderstood by Silicon Valley elites, in classic science fiction. The irrevocable loss of the natural world in favor of the visions set forth by the likes of Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerburg are not inevitable, Lepore argues emphatically in the brief epilogue. We must envision, Lepore says (and I am paraphrasing here), an offramp, a different future and then work to make that a reality. It is an opportunity. A hopeful albeit challenging charge. We have no other home than planet Earth and must save it from our own folly.
The fear of AI and robot apocalypse, as I believe it is with alien invasion, has little to actually do with the rise of these machines and much more to do with the fall, degradation, destruction of nature and the reckoning we as a species must come to terms with the grief, revulsion, and dread over what we have wrought. That is the beating core of this book. And it is wonderfully articulated and argued supported by rich research and history.
August 26, 2026
4.75⭐
I've been in my Jill Lepore era, so I was very excited to get a copy of her new book. I also recently read Empire of AI, which made my reading if this book more interesting. Each had a lot of different information about the same players in the modern AI game.
I enjoyed that Jill really went through the long history of technology and desire to automate in the US for the past 100 years. From the technocrats of the 1930s to the formation of Open AI.
I learned the term technolibertarian, which will be my new trigger word, it will evoke the same response I have when I hear neoliberal. Once that came up, I knew I wouldn't make it through without an appearance of Ayn Rand, one of my true enemies. At least we can take comfort in the fact that these tech bros and politicians who worship her are the opposite of the people she would want supporting her.
I appreciated the time spent on showing how a lot of the ideas that politicians and tech bros have based their aspirations on well known sci-fi novels instead of actual scientific research. I'm not sure how you can read a Robert Heinlein novel amd think, yeah, that's the goal. Also, I should have known, but learned in this book that Heinlein was sadly a libertarian.
Also, shout out to the James Hutton quote, "No vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end." which is used in the song No Control by Bad Religion.
I think this is perhaps not the easiest book to jump into, but it has a lot of really important information to share about the US' relationship with automation and technology over the years. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I've been in my Jill Lepore era, so I was very excited to get a copy of her new book. I also recently read Empire of AI, which made my reading if this book more interesting. Each had a lot of different information about the same players in the modern AI game.
I enjoyed that Jill really went through the long history of technology and desire to automate in the US for the past 100 years. From the technocrats of the 1930s to the formation of Open AI.
I learned the term technolibertarian, which will be my new trigger word, it will evoke the same response I have when I hear neoliberal. Once that came up, I knew I wouldn't make it through without an appearance of Ayn Rand, one of my true enemies. At least we can take comfort in the fact that these tech bros and politicians who worship her are the opposite of the people she would want supporting her.
I appreciated the time spent on showing how a lot of the ideas that politicians and tech bros have based their aspirations on well known sci-fi novels instead of actual scientific research. I'm not sure how you can read a Robert Heinlein novel amd think, yeah, that's the goal. Also, I should have known, but learned in this book that Heinlein was sadly a libertarian.
Also, shout out to the James Hutton quote, "No vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end." which is used in the song No Control by Bad Religion.
I think this is perhaps not the easiest book to jump into, but it has a lot of really important information to share about the US' relationship with automation and technology over the years. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
August 26, 2026
This book changed how I see everything.
Jill Lepore has written something genuinely important here. She traces how we went from counting people in ancient censuses to being counted—and controlled—by algorithms we don't understand. It sounds academic, but it reads like a detective story.
What I loved:
The history is mind-blowing. Did you know Elon Musk's grandfather was a leader in a 1930s movement called Technocracy that wanted to abolish democracy and replace it with rule by engineers? Members had numbers instead of names. Musk grew up with these ideas floating around him. Lepore connects the dots in ways that feel almost too perfect—but they're real.
The science fiction chapter is brilliant. She shows how tech billionaires read cautionary tales like "R.U.R." and "The Terminator" as instruction manuals instead of warnings. They built the nightmare they were warned about, then told us we needed them to save us from it.
The environmental angle shocked me. Data centers are destroying the planet. By 2030, AI is expected to drive a 200% increase in global data center power use. We're replacing animals with machines while the natural world collapses.
Though it has some flaws describes in the whole review piece: https://www.thelensage.com/rise-and-f...
Jill Lepore has written something genuinely important here. She traces how we went from counting people in ancient censuses to being counted—and controlled—by algorithms we don't understand. It sounds academic, but it reads like a detective story.
What I loved:
The history is mind-blowing. Did you know Elon Musk's grandfather was a leader in a 1930s movement called Technocracy that wanted to abolish democracy and replace it with rule by engineers? Members had numbers instead of names. Musk grew up with these ideas floating around him. Lepore connects the dots in ways that feel almost too perfect—but they're real.
The science fiction chapter is brilliant. She shows how tech billionaires read cautionary tales like "R.U.R." and "The Terminator" as instruction manuals instead of warnings. They built the nightmare they were warned about, then told us we needed them to save us from it.
The environmental angle shocked me. Data centers are destroying the planet. By 2030, AI is expected to drive a 200% increase in global data center power use. We're replacing animals with machines while the natural world collapses.
Though it has some flaws describes in the whole review piece: https://www.thelensage.com/rise-and-f...
August 14, 2026
Jill Lepore's The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State gives a lot of food for thought about where we are today and how we got here with regards to technology's role and impact in our society. This is obviously a weight-y topic and I appreciate a new and different lens to view our current landscape. Parts of this was dense-reading for me, even though it was informative and thought-provoking, for sure. I appreciate the historical perspectives as well as the way Lepore goes through the evolution of thought in how automatons/robots and technology were viewed as well as the differences between western and eastern views (and this portion read more clear and direct for me). While she closes with an optimistic view of what we (the collective we) can do to counter some of the negative arcs, some of the proposed solutions feel idealistic but not necessarily realistic in our current state (ugh, that's just my own Eeyore outlook I hope!). Lots to think about after reading this book but also not the easiest to navigate. 3.5/5
Many thanks to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the e-arc.
Many thanks to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the e-arc.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
"The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State" by Jill Lepore is a very timely warning about what happens when politics gets handed over to machines and the people behind them. She thoroughly covers the history of thought about computers and the idea of an artificial brain. Making sure to include science fiction authors such as Isaac Asimov and reporting on recent actors such as Zuckerberg, Altman, Trump, and Musk. Lepore traces through time how data, algorithms, bots, and corporate platforms have hollowed out public life, while also linking that damage to the wider loss of community and even the natural world.
What I like most about the premise is that Lepore doesn’t treat this as inevitable. The backlash is written into the audacious overreach of the artificial state. It is inherently unstable. So while this has some doom and gloom, there is optimism that it won't always be this way.
I'm grateful to W.W. Norton & Company for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
What I like most about the premise is that Lepore doesn’t treat this as inevitable. The backlash is written into the audacious overreach of the artificial state. It is inherently unstable. So while this has some doom and gloom, there is optimism that it won't always be this way.
I'm grateful to W.W. Norton & Company for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
August 25, 2026
Thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin for a copy of this book!
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State is divided in two parts. The first considers the rise of technology in the modern age and its trajectory in the future, and the second historically contextualises the “artificial state” and its connections to colonialism and the destruction of the environment. Lepore’s conclusions are terrifying arguing that mankind’s current obsession with the progression of technology will be our demise and we must free our minds of the artificial state and “imagine a new a future.” The monograph is deeply critical of AI and data centres and discusses their effect on democracy, the environment and the human psyche. Lepore also uses some interesting sources to draw her arguments from current media, literature and historical debates and pamphlets. This was a greatly interesting and topical book, but in some chapters I wish the argument was a little more structured. Some that I think stood out and were done quite well were “The Twitter Revolution”, “Man and Nature” and “Murderbot”
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State is divided in two parts. The first considers the rise of technology in the modern age and its trajectory in the future, and the second historically contextualises the “artificial state” and its connections to colonialism and the destruction of the environment. Lepore’s conclusions are terrifying arguing that mankind’s current obsession with the progression of technology will be our demise and we must free our minds of the artificial state and “imagine a new a future.” The monograph is deeply critical of AI and data centres and discusses their effect on democracy, the environment and the human psyche. Lepore also uses some interesting sources to draw her arguments from current media, literature and historical debates and pamphlets. This was a greatly interesting and topical book, but in some chapters I wish the argument was a little more structured. Some that I think stood out and were done quite well were “The Twitter Revolution”, “Man and Nature” and “Murderbot”
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I’ll pretty much read anything Jill Lepore puts out, but this one felt especially timely. She takes a hard look at how tech giants and algorithmic thinking have quietly chipped away at our democracy, and as always, her historical context is razor-sharp. She connects the dots between early 20th-century political theory and modern Silicon Valley in a way that makes you realize none of this "inevitable" tech future happened by accident.
Having Lepore narrate her own book was a huge plus. It feels like you're sitting in on a really passionate, accessible university lecture. She has a clear, conversational cadence that keeps the heavier, theory-dense sections moving without losing you.
A really smart, unsettling listen that gave me a lot to chew on. Highly recommend if you’re into tech history or politics.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC!
Having Lepore narrate her own book was a huge plus. It feels like you're sitting in on a really passionate, accessible university lecture. She has a clear, conversational cadence that keeps the heavier, theory-dense sections moving without losing you.
A really smart, unsettling listen that gave me a lot to chew on. Highly recommend if you’re into tech history or politics.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC!
August 24, 2026
Once again, the latest Jill Lepore book is a delight to read. In The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State she issues a warning against the tech moguls who want us to surrender to the machines. Above all, she is reminding us that we have already been warned, first by science fiction writers and then by the failed promises of the tech utopians who told us that the internet revolution (which she and I still view as a net positive technology) would lead to a more perfect democracy. Unfortunately, our potentially planet-altering technologies are in the hands of those who have been "reading cautionary tales as instruction manuals", and whose commitment to a "vanishingly faraway future" (e.g. interplanetary settlement) is working "to relieve the architects of the Artificial State of any obligations to the present" (e.g. climate change).
That's a pretty reduced summary of a book with lots of great tidbits and plenty of both entertaining and frightening anecdotes. It's a hard book to summarize, because frankly it's a bit all over the place. I'm still not sure if that's a feature or a bug; however, I am certain that your time is well spent reading this book to decided for yourself. It still is a damn fine read.
That's a pretty reduced summary of a book with lots of great tidbits and plenty of both entertaining and frightening anecdotes. It's a hard book to summarize, because frankly it's a bit all over the place. I'm still not sure if that's a feature or a bug; however, I am certain that your time is well spent reading this book to decided for yourself. It still is a damn fine read.
August 28, 2026
In the wake of an OpenAI model breaking out of its sandbox and hacking another AI company, I was eager to pick up this book and had high hopes for it. I will highlight that I did learn a decent amount of information about the history of key players in the industry along with various sci-fi novels that sprung from the invention of machines. However, I struggled to follow the plot the further I got into the book. What I glean from it is that all the latest tech did not actually level the playing field, but raised a very select few instead. Also, we are not too far gone to choose not to become overrun by AI and all the data centers that damage our planet, but it will take collective action to reverse our course.
Thank you to Liveright Publishing for this giveaway!
Thank you to Liveright Publishing for this giveaway!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I am a long-time fan of Jill Lepore. I find her political writings to be engaging and informative and insightful. I also find them to be very accessible and easy to read. Until this one.
I could NOT find my way into this one. It felt a lot more like a policy paper than her other books. There's nothing wrong with that, and the information is still of the high quality I expect from her, but I found this one a lot less enjoyable andinteresting to read as a result. I was surprised at this, because I was very intrigued to get her take on AI. Unfortunately, this one wasn't a winner for me...
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
I could NOT find my way into this one. It felt a lot more like a policy paper than her other books. There's nothing wrong with that, and the information is still of the high quality I expect from her, but I found this one a lot less enjoyable andinteresting to read as a result. I was surprised at this, because I was very intrigued to get her take on AI. Unfortunately, this one wasn't a winner for me...
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
August 22, 2026
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ARTIFICIAL STATE looks at the world of machines, robots and artificial intelligence as well as the AI architects whose ideas come from science fiction, not science.
So much of this book gave me anxiety, but I felt it’s important to be knowledgeable about the history of these concepts as they gain more steam, especially AI and data centers. It is extremely well researched.
TLDR affluent but unlikable nerds misread science fiction books as kids and become the villains themselves in adulthood.
Thank you to #NetGalley and RBmedia for an advanced audiobook copy of #TheRiseAndFallOfTheArtificialState. Publication date Aug. 25, 2026.
So much of this book gave me anxiety, but I felt it’s important to be knowledgeable about the history of these concepts as they gain more steam, especially AI and data centers. It is extremely well researched.
TLDR affluent but unlikable nerds misread science fiction books as kids and become the villains themselves in adulthood.
Thank you to #NetGalley and RBmedia for an advanced audiobook copy of #TheRiseAndFallOfTheArtificialState. Publication date Aug. 25, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is the second banger in a row from Lepore. She has made her way into my top five historical non-fiction writers. She knows how to tell the real truth by connecting facts and data, to anecdotes. I would make this required reading for a creative non-fiction class.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ms. Lepore for the ARC
Thanks to NetGalley and Ms. Lepore for the ARC
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