{
  "id": 1631320,
  "title": "Democracy v the machine: the birth of the digital age and the warnings that were ignored",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/democracy-v-the-machine-the-birth-of-the-digital-age-and-the-warnings",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-18T04:00:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Technology",
    "slug": "guardian-technology",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/aug/18/the-long-read-democracy-v-the-machine-digital-age-warnings-computer-history-technology"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Democracy and technology have long been at odds, with some fearing that the rise of artificial intelligence and machines would spell the end of liberal society. Despite this, many believed that technology could bring about an egalitarian utopia. However, warnings about the artificial state, in which machines replace democratic processes, were largely ignored.\n\nIn this modern era, where everything seems to focus on the future, people are constantly bombarded with the idea that robots will take over the world. It feels like we're racing towards something, unable to stop, look back, or think straight. But this moment in history does have a past, and it wasn't inevitable. Things could have turned out differently, and they still can.\n\nOne thing that stands out is that many people did see this future coming. They foresaw the potential for a computer utopia and were both excited and terrified by the possibilities. Above all, these individuals issued warning after warning about the rise of the artificial state, where democratic deliberation would be replaced by calculation, the public sphere by data-driven commerce, and the demos by drones.\n\nSo why didn't anyone listen? The new underworld is made up of innocent and well-intentioned individuals who work with sophisticated tools like slide rules, calculating machines, and computers capable of retaining and processing vast amounts of information. Most of these people are highly educated, many holding PhDs, and none that I have encountered have malicious intentions towards the American public. While they may be unaware of the potential impact of their work on American politics, they are actively shaping the future in ways that could radically reconstruct the American political system, build a new politics, and even modify revered American institutions – all without realizing the potential consequences.",
  "summary": "Many hoped that the march of technology would usher in an egalitarian utopia – but some foresaw the threat it would pose to liberal society. Why did nobody listen? One of the stranger things about this dizzying, headlong moment in time is that it doesn’t have much of a past. Everything is about the future of this, the future of that: the future of work, the future of humanity, the future of the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}