We reflect on the development of digital twins of the Earth, which we associate with a reductionist view of nature as a machine. We contest the utility of digital twins for addressing climate change issues and discuss societal risks associated with the concept, including the twins' potential to reinforce economicism and governance by numbers, emphasizing concerns about democratic accountability...

Last book

"A long awaited examination of the role —and obligation —of modeling."
Nassim Nicholas Taleb , Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Author, of the 5 -volume series Incerto.

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"A breath of fresh air and  a much needed cautionary view of the ever-widening dependence  on mathematical modeling."
Orrin H. Pilkey, Professor at Duke University's  Nicholas School of the Environment, co-author with Linda Pilkey-Jarvis of Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists Can’t Predict the Future, Columbia University Press 2009.

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"The methods by which power insinuates itself into models, and facilitates their portability and amendments, are diverse and sometimes insidious: that is one reason why the range of cases explored in this book are so illuminating and why we need to pay attention to its authors."
Wendy Nelson Espeland, Professor of Sociology, Northwestern University, author with of Michael Sauder of Engines of Anxiety: Academic Rankings, Reputation, and Accountability, Russel Sage.