Forthcoming

Inside of Tesla Factory, California

Political Automation: An Introduction to AI in Government and its Impact on Citizens

Governments routinely use AI-based software to gather information about our lives and decide matters of resource allocation; they determine, for example, who gets policed and who gets state benefits. In time, increasingly complex government functions will be taken over from human supervision. The role of humans in the act of governance itself is therefore changing, and many will find themselves at a new “frontier” of citizenship. This book (forthcoming 2024 from OUP), will explore that frontier.

Image credit: Nicholas Albrecht.

Published Books

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Alter-globalization in Southern Europe: Anatomy of a Social Movement

In this book I examine the relationship between the alter-globalization movement and political power in Italy, Spain, and Greece. I argue that not only is the movement anti-political, but that it operates within an apolitical social milieu, as a ritualized holding pattern for youths that find themselves uncomfortably placed between a receding state structure on the one hand, and a rising informal economy on the other. Its ritual liminality allows adherents to explore experiences of social authenticity, racial alterity, and political alternativity, all the while ensuring that the movement’s impact on existing power structures remains relatively limited. I consider the social ramifications of such a movement at a time when Europe finds itself at a political and economic crossroads, and describe fieldwork in three southern European cities: Barcelona, Naples, and Athens. You can find an academic peer-review of this book here.

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