Widespread concerns over mass surveillance and the algorithms that interpret surveillance reveal popular belief in their efficacy.

Such belief ironically legitimizes, rather than discredits, decisions institutions claim are based on AI or mass surveillance!

1/4

This explains why the innovation-averse European Union citizens, who often demand stronger privacy legislation, also believe AI government decisions would be more trustworthy than those made by politicians or technocrats.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/one-in-four-europeans-favor-artificial-intelligence-making-policy-decisions-over-politicians-according-to-ie-university-report-300814589.html

cc">https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele... @MacaesBruno

2/4

We want to be governed by machines. So our very human institutions will eventually pretend to be machines for us.

An important next step in the development of Weberian legal-rational authority in Western societies.

#Max_Weber_on_authority">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authority_(sociology) #Max_Weber_on_authority

3/4">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auth...

Importantly this reveals Western society as remaining fundamentally high modernity. We& #39;ve not given up on objectivity being achieved, we& #39;ve merely given up on humans achieving it.

A more fundamental crisis of modernity will follow once faith in machine objectivity departs.

4/4

Follow up: https://twitter.com/SamoBurja/status/1274809564295118848">https://twitter.com/SamoBurja...