Institution, Human, Technology
This session is part of the Introduction to Political Technology course at Newspeak House, open to faculty and fellowship candidates only.
Dr Six Silberman leads us in exploring the complex interplay between institutions and organisations; humans; and technologies.
What is a healthy organisation?
How would you know one if you saw it?
Are there different indicators for different types of organisation (e.g., workplace, school, volunteer project)?
What are some ways organisations you have participated in (or heard about) have been unhealthy — or notably healthy?
How did this ‘unhealthiness’ affect you, others, and/or the organisation’s ability to do whatever it was (nominally) trying to do?
Have you seen or heard of organisations ‘getting better’? How?
How can individuals &/or small groups contribute to organisations ‘getting better’?
What role does/can/might leadership play in organisations being or staying ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’, ‘getting better’ or ‘getting worse’? (Possibly for future discussion: What is ‘good leadership’?)
What is the relationship between ‘organisational health’ and the structure of organisations?
Does greater hierarchy increase the risk of and organisation becoming unhealthy?
Do we know examples of less- or non-hierarchical organisations?
Are they healthier than more hierarchical ones?
Readings you may enjoy
Ajeesh & Joseph 2025, ‘The compassion illusion: Can artificial empathy ever be emotionally authentic?’, Frontiers in Psychology 16
Pugh 2024, The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World, Princeton University Press
Lie-Panis 2026, ‘Guarding the guardians: good institutions are social technologies that scale trust from personal relations to entire nations. How do they work?’, Aeon
More from Aeon:
Chayes 2022, ‘The Midas Disease — Corruption is a truly global crisis and the wealth addiction that feeds it is hiding in plain sight’, Aeon
Sadedin 2015, ‘Natural police — Seen through game theory, cancer and police corruption are pretty much the same thing. And for one of them, there’s a cure’, Aeon