Anthropic's Claude constitution mirrors 1984 ad; historian warns 'Artificial State' threatens democr
harvard historian jill lepore argues ai labs like anthropic are forming an 'artificial state' that replaces democratic government, warning that constitutions for llms mask a dangerous political fantasy.
harvard historian and new Yorker writer jill lepore released 'the rise and fall of the artificial state,' arguing that companies like anthropic are effectively forming new governments through tools like the 'claude constitution.' lepore draws a line from the 1984 macintosh ad to modern ai safety efforts, critiquing leaders like sam altman for suggesting an 'ai president.' she cites e.m. forster’s 1909 story 'the machine stops' as a blueprint for this trend, suggesting that the tech industry's push to make government more efficient via ai is actually an old, dangerous fantasy of replacing democracy.