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Software was supposed to radically improve society. Outdated mechanical systems would be easily replaced; programs like PowerPoint would make information flow more freely; social media platforms like Facebook would bring people together; and generative AI would solve the worlds greatest ills. Yet in practice, few of the systems we looked to with such high hopes have lived up to their fundamental mandate. In fact, in too many cases theyve made things worse, exposing us to immense risk at the societal and the individual levels. How did we get to this point?Fatal AbstractionFatal Abstraction
Software was supposed to radically improve society. Outdated mechanical systems would be easily replaced; programs like PowerPoint would make information flow more freely; social media platforms like Facebook would bring people together; and generative AI would solve the worlds greatest ills. Yet in practice, few of the systems we looked to with such high hopes have lived up to their fundamental mandate. In fact, in too many cases theyve made things worse, exposing us to immense risk at the societal and the individual levels. How did we get to this point?Fatal AbstractionFatal Abstraction