Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2023
A bold new interpretation of why technology has all too often benefited elites - and how we must reshape the path of innovation to create true shared prosperity.
A thousand years of history and contemporary evidence make one thing clear. Progress is not automatic but depends on the choices we make about technology. New ways of organizing production and communication can either serve the narrow interests of an elite or become the foundation for widespread prosperity.
Much of the wealth generated by agricultural advances during the European Middle Ages was captured by the Church and used to build grand cathedrals while the peasants starved. The first hundred years of industrialization in England delivered stagnant incomes for workers,while making a few people very rich. And throughout the world today,digital technologies and artificial intelligence increase inequality and undermine democracy through excessive automation,massive data collection,and intrusive surveillance.
It doesn't have to be this way. Power and Progress demonstrates that the path of technology was once - and can again be - brought under control. The tremendous computing advances of the last half century can become empowering and democratizing tools,but not if all major decisions remain in the hands of a few hubristic tech leaders striving to build a society that elevates their own power and prestige.
With their breakthrough economic theory and manifesto for a better society,Acemoglu and Johnson provide the understanding and the vision to reshape how we innovate and who really gains from technological advances so we can create real prosperity for all.
Publisher: John Murray PressISBN: 9781399804455Number of pages: 560Weight: 847 gDimensions: 238 x 166 x 52 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'If you are not already an addict of Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson's previous books,Power and Progress is guaranteed to make you one. It offers their addictive hallmarks: sparkling writing and a big question that affects our lives...Read,enjoy,and then choose your lifestyle!'- Jared Diamond
'In this brilliant,sweeping review of technological change past and present,Acemoglu and Johnson mean to grab us by the shoulders and shake us awake before today's winner-take-all technologies impose more violence on global society and the democratic prospect. This vital book is a necessary antidote to the poisonous rhetoric of tech inevitability...Power and Progress is the blueprint we need for the challenges ahead'- Shoshana Zuboff
'One powerful thread runs through this breathtaking tour of the history and future of technology,from the Neolithic agricultural revolution to the ascent of artificial intelligence: Technology is not destiny,nothing is pre-ordained...In this age of relentless automation and seemingly unstoppable consolidation of power and wealth,Power and Progress is an essential reminder that we can,and must,take back control'- Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo,2019 Nobel laureates in Economics
'A sweeping history of more than a thousand years of technical change...An important book that is long overdue'- Sir Angus Deaton,2015 Nobel laureate in economics
'A book you must read: compelling,beautifully written,and tightly argued,it addresses a crucially important problem with powerful solutions'- Rebecca Henderson
'Acemoglu and Johnson would like a word with the mighty tech lords before they turn over the entire world economy to artificial intelligence. The lesson of economic history is technological advances such as AI won't automatically lead to broad-based prosperity-they may end up benefiting only a wealthy elite... it's a bracing wake-up call for the rest of us'- Niall Ferguson
Kommentar