The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions

(Paperback, Main)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

'Entertaining, insightful ... compelling' Financial Times'A clear and compelling account of how decision-making works, or rather doesn't, in the twenty-first century. It will make you look at the world differently' Stephen BushWhen 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.

Reviews

'Entertaining, insightful ... Dan Davies makes a compelling case for the use of Stafford beer's management cybernetics ... with The Unaccountability Machine, he provides an elegant new introduction to this intriguing road-not-taken in postwar social science, and makes a compelling case that in the age of AI its time has finally come' - Felix Martin

'Funny, fascinating and compelling - this is a book to make you chuckle, to make you angry, and above all to make you think' - Tim Harford, author

'Drawing on the work of economist Stafford Beer, Davies explores why big systems often make flawed decisions or duck out of them altogether - and the damaging consequences that can follow.' - Spear's Magazine

'A clear and compelling account of how decision-making works, or rather doesn't, in the twenty-first century. It will make you look at the world differently' - Stephen Bush

'An extraordinary book ... we all blame 'The System' for numerous woes, but what is The System Dan Davies' immensely readable book tells us how there actually isn't one - it's far far weirder than that. I have come away a wiser man' - Patrick Alley, author

Author Bio

Dan Davies is a former Bank of England economist and investment bank analyst. As a journalist he has tackled the LIBOR and FX scandals, the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank and the Swiss Nazi gold scandal. He has written for the Financial Times and the New Yorker, and is the author of Lying For Money.