Fatal Abstraction: Why the Managerial Class Loses Control of Software

by Darryl Campbell Narrated by Bob Johnson

Overview

Software was supposed to radically improve society. Outdated mechanical systems would be easily replaced; social media platforms like Facebook would bring people together; and generative AI would solve the world's greatest ills. Yet in practice, few of the systems we looked to with such high hopes have lived up to their fundamental mandate. In fact, in too many cases they've made things worse. How did we get to this point?



In Fatal Abstraction, Darryl Campbell explains that the problem is "managerial software": programs created and overseen not by engineers but by professional managers with only the most superficial knowledge of technology itself.



A former tech worker himself, Campbell shows how managerial software fails, and when it does what sorts of disastrous consequences ensue, from the Boeing 737 MAX crashes to a deadly self-driving car to PowerPoint propaganda, and beyond. Yet just because the tech industry is currently breaking its core promise does not mean the industry cannot change. Campbell argues that the solution is tech workers with actual expertise establishing industry-wide principles of ethics and safety that corporations would be forced to follow. Fatal Abstraction is a stirring rebuke of the tech industry's current managerial excesses, and also a hopeful glimpse of what a world shaped by good software can offer.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"From startups to Big Tech, self-driving cars to AI, the sky-high promises have been undercut by the industry’s reliance on rigid corporate structures. In Fatal Abstraction, Darryl Campbell combines reporting, research, and his personal experience working in tech to diagnose this fundamental problem—and its very human toll. Smart and often funny, Campbell’s book is rich with unsparing detail, and offers a glimpse into a widespread problem that is surprising and urgent."— Kevin Nguyen, author of My Documents and New Waves and features editor at The Verge

"In the spirit of Bad Blood and The Accidental Billionaires, Darryl Campbell pulls back the curtain on the mythology of Big Tech as infallible and software as savior. He also shows how armies of ambivalent or powerless techies in the trenches may hold the power to change things."— Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys and A Curious Man

"Fatal Abstraction is an electrifying and incisive book that offers an insider’s perspective on the tech industry…exposes the forces rotting the core of today’s tech industry: unchecked financialization that destroys innovation, eroding ethics, and declining user experience, all in a reckless pursuit of perpetual growth and market dominance."— Taylor Lorenz, author of Extremely Online and founder of User Mag

"In Fatal Abstraction, Darryl Campbell makes the case that our safety and possibly our souls have been sold out to the combination of an ideology called managerialism and faulty software. He shows beyond a doubt that large corporations aren't equipped to understand the dangers of technology, and suggests an alternative to managerialism that he says can stop Big Tech from creating another high-stakes disaster."— Cathy O’Neil, New York Times bestselling author of Weapons of Math Destruction and The Shame Machine

"I read Fatal Abstraction in a single sitting, gripped by both fascination and a creeping sense of dread over just how badly things can go when tech executives are too unimaginative or distracted by profit to think through the real-world implications of their products. Darryl Campbell’s deeply researched book draws a clear line from notorious examples like Uber’s self-driving cars to lesser-known ones such as the Burmese military's weaponization of Facebook in the Rohingya genocide. Most chilling of all is the chapter on PowerPoint, which Campbell argues is not just an easy-to-mock corporate tool, but a platform for dangerously oversimplified thinking or even outright propaganda. Campbell, a tech veteran himself, also offers a framework by which developers and other frontline tech workers can curb their bosses' worst instincts. For the sake of my nervous system and the world's well-being, I hope they will take up his challenge."— Kristi Coulter, author of Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career

"Do not allow the words 'managerial software' to let your eyes glaze over—this is one of the most quietly insidious forces governing, and curdling, modern life. Darryl Campbell, a former tech worker and astute observer, gives us a front row seat to the story of how, from PowerPoint to Boeing to AI chatbots, management is warping the power of technology into a dull extractor of profit. Compelling, urgent reading."— Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine and The One Device

"A relentlessly engaging and thought-provoking critique of corporations and Big Tech that highlights the growing issue of management recklessly relying on undercooked and misguided software to drive efficiency and appease shareholders, often at great human cost. Campbell puts strong words to and validates certain anxieties and concerns about technology and those who manage it, and the book serves as a call to action for tech workers who value humanity over profits and blind efficiency. Essential reading, especially in the age of generative AI."— Reid Southen, film industry concept artist and illustrator

"Campbell’s career spans the gamut of the digital business, from gung-ho startups to ruthless tech giants, and he draws on his experience to compile a long list of stories of software going wrong…A disturbing look at the evolution of digital technology and the implications for society."— Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2025-02-01
An insider reveals the dark secrets of the software industry.

Digital technology was once touted as the path to a world that was easier, safer, and more connected. But at some point, says the author of this intriguing book, it became more part of the problem than part of the solution. Software is creeping into every corner of our society, and the trend shows no sign of slowing. Campbell’s career spans the gamut of the digital business, from gung-ho startups to ruthless tech giants, and he draws on his experience to compile a long list of stories of software going wrong. He discusses driverless cars, renegade dating apps, and near crashes of passenger aircraft. But the real issue is the interaction of software with what Campbell calls “managerialism,” or the desire of executives to increase revenue and reduce outlays. In fact, most corporate bosses have little understanding of how software works and see only the opportunity for speedy growth. Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have already wound up or drastically cut back their internal offices responsible for ethical oversight, to save on staff costs. The problems have begun to multiply with the proliferation of AI systems, which could eventually take humans out of the equation entirely. Campbell believes that most software engineers have a genuine desire to make the world a better place, and if they work together they might be able to leverage their skills to introduce crucial safeguards. This sounds like an over-optimistic view, but Campbell is right in saying that change is needed. Without a new direction, he concludes, software will be “a digital straitjacket in which we bind ourselves ever more tightly, even as its embrace suffocates us.”

A disturbing look at the evolution of digital technology and the implications for society.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940194197286
Publisher:	Ascent Audio
Publication date:	04/08/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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