Algorithmic Governance and Power
TL;DR
Nancy S. Lind argues that public power now routinely operates through a government–private sector partnership she calls the “hybrid state” and offers a practical framework for judging accountability when decision-making is automated or outsourced, clarifying responsibilities for transparency, due process, and effective oversight.
Abstract
How is American government being reconfigured when public authority is exercised through code, platforms, and data systems as much as through statutes, agencies, and courts? Algorithmic Governance and Power: How AI is Reshaping American Democracy shows how decisions about speech, benefits, policing, immigration, and elections are increasingly shaped by technological infrastructure and private governance operating alongside - and often inside - the state. Nancy S. Lind argues that public power now routinely operates through a government–private sector partnership she calls the “hybrid state.” Through case-based analysis of algorithmic screening, risk assessment tools, content moderation, and microtargeted political advertising, she traces how legal and policy judgments become embedded in system design - often in ways that are hard to see, contest, or appeal through conventional administrative and judicial channels. Written for scholars, students, and practitioners navigating a post-Chevron landscape, the book offers a practical framework for judging accountability when decision-making is automated or outsourced, clarifying responsibilities for transparency, due process, and effective oversight.