Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Unaccountability Machine
- Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions - and How The World Lost its Mind
- Narrated by: Peter Dickson
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.00 for first 30 days
The Unaccountability Machine
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
'A corporation, or a government department isn't a conscious being, but it is an artificial intelligence. It has the capability to take decisions which are completely distinct from the intentions of any of the people who compose it. And under stressful conditions, it can go stark raving mad.'
When we avoid taking a decision, what happens to it? In The Unaccountability Machine, Dan Davies examines why markets, institutions and even governments systematically generate outcomes that everyone involved claims not to want. He casts new light on the writing of Stafford Beer, a legendary economist who argued in the 1950s that we should regard organisations as artificial intelligences, capable of taking decisions that are distinct from the intentions of their members.
Management cybernetics was Beer's science of applying self-regulation in organisational settings, but it was largely ignored - with the result being the political and economic crises that that we see today. With his signature blend of cynicism and journalistic rigour, Davies looks at what's gone wrong, and what might have been, had the world listened to Stafford Beer when it had the chance.
What listeners say about The Unaccountability Machine
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tobias F Lloyd
- 16-05-24
Fascinating, thought provoking and fun.
Fascinating exploration of a topic that was entirely new to me, but also one of the best and most readable analyses of what’s gone wrong with the economy and with economics. And beautifully, wittily written.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!