Governance can’t be automated

Authors: Jack Stilgoe

Published: 2025-04-24

DOI: 10.1126/science.adx3843

Source: Full article


Abstract

On the corners of the Holborn viaduct in central London, there are four statues: Commerce, Agriculture, Fine Art, and Science. The figure representing Science looks like she should be in Ancient Greece, but she is incongruously holding a Victorian contraption with two balls on diagonal struts. The object, an advertisement for Britain’s technological prowess during the Industrial Revolution, is a flyball governor.