Naturally, bureaucrats can be expected to embrace a technology that helps to create the illusion that decisions are not under their control. Because of its seeming intelligence and impartiality, a computer has an almost magical tendency to direct attention away from the people in charge of bureaucratic functions and toward itself, as if the computer were the true source of authority. A bureaucrat armed with a computer is the unacknowledged legislator of our age, and a terrible burden to bear.
In Neil Postman's "Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology," he argues that bureaucrats are likely to favor technology, particularly computers, which create an illusion of objective decision-making. This reliance on technology shifts the focus from human authority to the machines themselves, making it appear as though the computer holds the true decision-making power. This dynamic helps bureaucrats evade responsibility and increases the perception of the computer's intelligence and impartiality.
Postman suggests that this reliance on technology places a heavy burden on bureaucrats, as they become the unrecognized creators of policies and regulations in an era dominated by machines. The computer's capability to disguise the human element in governance complicates accountability and suggests a concerning trend where technology, rather than people, is seen as the ultimate authority in bureaucratic decisions.
