State of the Realm
The State of the Culture · Work and technology

When the algorithm becomes your boss

The software may only be advising the manager, but workers know when an adviser is really in charge

28 September 2026 · 14 min read

The old-fashioned bad boss had at least one useful feature: you knew who to blame. They might misunderstand your work, fixate on the wrong number or deliver a performance review based on the general atmosphere of a Tuesday morning, but they were a person. You could answer back. You could explain the broken machine, the difficult customer or the colleague you had quietly rescued. On a good day, they might even listen.

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