M U L L A duel of ideas

The city, the algorithm, the citizen

Lewis Mumford  vs  Ezra Klein

Mumford wrote that cities are tools we build to think with — that the structure of the city shapes the structure of the citizen. Klein argues, half a century later, that the algorithm is the new city, and that we are being shaped by it without consent. Both ask whether we still live in a place we recognize.

Whose city did you live in yesterday — yours, or the algorithm's?

Whose side are you on?

Want more duels like this?
Read another now →
Mull is a public library of idea duels.
Browse all