What does "embarrassment" mean in the context of a state? Sure, individuals can fear for their careers and reputations (but most of them are old or near retire

What does "embarrassment" mean in the context of a state? Sure, individuals can fear for their careers and reputations (but most of them are old or near retirement, and probably don't stand to lose homes, marriages or savings - unless Bates succeeds in private prosecutions). Fujitsu is a big enough international company to weather this. Some skulduggery is almost expected as part of an archaeological drama. Something weightier and more subtle is at stake. When the young boy called out that the Emperor had no clothes, it was not the Emperor himself who was "embarrassed", since head been standing there naked all along. It was the peoples' belief in his clothes. Two sacred things are on trial here; 1) The law itself. In particular the clinically insane conceit that "by default computer programs are assumed to be correct in British law". This goes against everything in computer science and software engineering and is mercilessly mocked by all experts. The onus needs reversing (especially with more use of "AI") [0,1,2] to make the default assumption be error unless it's possible to bring formal proofs (designs, logs) to court. 2) Public faith in technology. Other big cases are on the horizon (sorry) - such as UK pensions and immigration databases. When these blow up I see a cascade of #metoo cases, because people are getting their lives screwed by technology, and suffering awful injustices in many ways now. Both of these things are not "embarrassment of the state" as such. They are colossal challenges to extant power structures and markets. [0] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00168-8 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00168-8 [1] https://cybershow.uk/episodes.php?id=24 https://cybershow.uk/episodes.php?id=24 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40052611 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40052611