Jill Lepore: The Artificial State

TPL and Toronto Metropolitan University present Pulitzer-Prize winning historian Jill Lepore in conversation with Sanjay Ruparelia at the Toronto Reference Library's Appel Salon.

As Professor of American History at Harvard University and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, Jill Lepore brings her rare gift for narrative history to one of the most urgent questions of our time: has democracy already been quietly replaced by rule of a different kind, one governed not by citizens, but by machines owned by corporations?

In her new book The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, Lepore traces our increasing dependence on and strangulation by data. Framing the book as a successor to Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism, Lepore shares a new history for our twenty-first century.

What does it mean when the era of the liberal nation-state seems to be giving way to the rule of artificial intelligence? Lepore insists history is driven not by machines but by individuals, societies, cultures, and ideas, and that the architects of the Artificial State drew their governing philosophy not from science, but from science fiction.

Can what has been built be undone? And what would it take to reimagine a genuinely democratic relationship between technology and self-governance, one where humans, not machines, remain accountable to one another?

Join one of America's most celebrated historians, fresh from her bestselling We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution, for an essential conversation about power, technology, and the fight to reclaim democratic life from the architects of an artificial future.

Question and answer session and book signing to follow. Books available for purchase.

About this Event's Guests:

Jill Lepore

Sanjay Ruparelia

Read More:

The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State

We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution

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This event is part of our On Civil Society series, where we host local and international authors, activists and academics in conversation about the most critical topics of our time. Generously supported by the McConnell Foundation and also by Chris M. Reid.

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About the series:

On the Frontlines of Democracy is a public lecture series to analyze the trajectory of democracy in the twenty-first century.

In every region, the prospects of democracy face serious challenges, old and new. Can we protect constitutional rights and renew collective self-rule in an era of popular mistrust, severe partisanship and resurgent nationalism? Can they reduce inequalities of power, wealth and status, defend deep diversity and confront climate change in the new digital age? Can we develop innovative strategies to revitalize civic engagement, empower public institutions and resist autocratic threats? And what can we offer, learn and do to promote the prospects of democracy in our increasingly post-western global order?

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PLAN YOUR VISIT:

Location: Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge Street), 2nd floor

Time: Doors open 6:00 pm, Event starts 7 pm.

Tickets: Free registration required.

Ticket policy: Tickets guaranteed until 6:50 pm, after which rush line admission begins. Seating first come, first served.

Bar: Beer/wine available for purchase (debit/credit only).

TPL is committed to accessibility. If you are Deaf or have a disability and would like to request accommodation for this event, please contact [email protected] or 416-393-7099 at least three weeks prior to the event.

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