The Unaccountability Machine
 | |
| Author | Dan Davies |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Business |
| Published | 2024 |
| Publisher | Profile Books |
| Publication place | United States |
The Unaccountability Machine (2024) is a business book by Dan Davies, an investment bank analyst and author,[1] who also writes for The New Yorker.[2] It argues that responsibility for decision making has become diffused after World War II and represents a flaw in society.
Synopsis
[edit]The book explores industrial scale decision making in markets, institutions and governments, a situation where the system serves itself by following process instead of logic.[3] He argues that unexpected consequences, unwanted outcomes or failures emerge from "responsibility voids"[3] that are built into underlying systems. These voids are especially visible in big complex organizations.[4]
Davies introduces the term “accountability sinks”,[5] which remove the ownership or responsibility for decisions made. The sink obscures or deflects responsibility,[6] and contributes towards a set of outcomes that appear to have been generated by a black box.[7] Whether a rule book, best practices, or computer system, these accountability sinks "scramble feedback"[8] and make it difficult to identify the source of mistakes and rectify them. An accountability sink breaks the links between decision makers and individuals, thus preventing feedback from being shared as a result of the system malfunction.[9] The end result, he argues, is protocol politics, where there is no head, or accountability. Decision makers can avoid the blame for their institutional actions, while the ordinary customer, citizen or employee face the consequences of these managers' poor decision making.[9]
Publication and reception
[edit]It was published by Profile Books in 2024, with the full title The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions—and How the World Lost Its Mind. It was noted by the Financial Times as a "must read" book in 2024.[10] It was also reviewed in The Guardian.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ Davies, Dan (2021-03-09). Lying for Money. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-1495-4.
- ^ "Dan Davies". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ a b Smith, Ed (2024-07-02). "The end of accountability". New Statesman. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ Ward, I & Somerset Webb, M. (October 4, 2024) What an Ex-BOE Regulator Says Is Wrong With Big Companies. Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-04/podcast-what-an-ex-boe-regulator-says-is-wrong-with-big-companies
- ^ Askonas, J. (2025). THE NEW CONTROL SOCIETY. The New Atlantis, (79), 28-65.
- ^ Brown, Mandy (2024-10-16). "The Unaccountability Machine by Dan Davies". A Working Library. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ Davies, Dan. The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions—and How the World Lost Its Mind. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- ^ Martin, Felix (2024-04-04). "The Unaccountability Machine — why do big systems make bad decisions?". Financial Times. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ a b Brown, Mandy (2024-10-16). "Accountability sinks". A Working Library. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ Hill, Andrew (2024-11-18). "Best books of 2024: Business". Financial Times. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ "Books for a better world: as chosen by Lenny Henry, Geri Halliwell-Horner, Andrew O'Hagan and others". The Guardian. 2024-05-18. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
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