This reminds me of a chapter in ‘Homo Deus’ where Yuval Noah Harari uses the Pharaohs rule over Ancient Egypt to explain that humans are capable of a level of management so sophisticated that it can think for itself. This is of course referring to ‘algorithms’ that we know and love today.

My favourite part was when he eventually went on to explain that when you’re admitted to hospital, despite being surrounded by other humans such as yourself, fundamentally speaking they have no say over how you are treated; instead you are in the hands of ‘the system’, which decided what medication you take, which medical practices need to be carried out.

Ultimately, the system is brought to life by the flesh and bones that obey its rule, much like the Egyptians followed the algorithms that brought the city of Egypt to life.