In Power and Progress, 2024 Nobel Laureates in Economic Sciences Daron Acemoğlu and Simon Johnson challenge the seductive myth that technological advancement naturally leads to shared prosperity (aka the productivity bandwagon). Drawing on a thousand years of technological and economic history – from medieval farming tools, the Panama Canal to factory-floor automation and artificial intelligence – they reveal how the implementation of innovation often serves the interests of elites, deepening inequality and concentrating power. The book argues that technology is not a neutral force but a battleground shaped by political choices, institutions, and public will.
We can use these innovations to solve real problems – but only if these awesome capabilities are focused on helping people. This is not the direction in which we are currently heading, however.
Power and Progress, p. 7
In 2025, it is clear that so-called artificial intelligence will be inevitably pervasive in all workplaces. In the face of this challenge, I found Acemoğlu and Johnson’s argument for benefiting from “machine usefulness” instead of (mere) AI automation on the back of workers most impactful.
Simon Johnson participated in the 8th Lindau Nobel Meeting in Economic Sciences. His lecture “Technology and Global Inequality in the Age of AI” is available in the Lindau Mediatheque.
Thoughts?