DARON ACEMOGLU, whoshared the 2024 Nobel Prize in economics for his work on the gaps in prosperity between nations and research on how institutions affect economic progress, is Institute Professor of Economics at MIT, the university's highest faculty honor. For the last twenty-five years, he has been researching the historical origins of prosperity, poverty, and the effects of new technologies on economic growth, employment, and inequality. Acemoglu is the recipient of additional awards and honors, including the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded to economists under forty judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge (2005); the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award in economics, finance, and management for his lifetime contributions (2016), and the Kiel Institute's Global Economy Prize in economics (2019). He is author (with James Robinson) of The Narrow Corridor and the New York Times bestseller Why Nations Fail.
SIMON JOHNSONwhoshared the 2024 Nobel Prize in
economics for his work on the gaps in prosperity between
nations and research on how institutions affect economic progress
is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Sloan
School at MIT, where he is also head of the Global Economics and
Management group. Previously chief economist at the International
Monetary Fund, he has worked on global economic crises and
recoveries for thirty years. Johnson has published more than 300
high-impact pieces in leading publications such as The New York
Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic,
and Financial Times. He is author (with Jon Gruber) of
Jump-Starting America, and (with James Kwak) of White House Burning
and the national bestseller 13 Bankers. He works with
entrepreneurs, elected officials, and civil society organizations
around the world.
"A necessary corrective... They may not be techno-optimists, but
their closing message is a hopeful one: humanity has done this
before, and we can do it again... Power and Progress is no
neo-luddite screed. It recognises the contribution technological
advances can make towards shared prosperity, but it is a strident
techno-realist takedown of the dominant narrative of its
inevitability and a call to arms to make it a reality."--Irish
Times
"Anyone who claims that the rise of A.I. will be good for anyone
but those who own (and profit from) large tech companies should
read Power and Progress. A new economy undergirded by artificial
intelligence could easily serve as an engine of further wealth
concentration. Thinking about where we have been and where we are
going in higher education, the clear lesson from Power and Progress
is that we should not expect new technologies to result in a more
equitable and resilient postsecondary ecosystem."--Inside Higher
Ed
"Getting the regulation of artificial intelligence right is one of
the most urgent problems facing our species, and also one of the
most delicate.... This is the subject at the heart of an important
new book by two prominent economists....The book proposes an
interesting set of policies to produce a better version of the
future...Acemoglu and Johnson highlight a substantial worry about
the evolution of the tech industry." --Adrian Wooldridge,
Bloomberg
"One of the most important books of the year." --Will Hutton, The
Guardian
"Important... formidable...This book arrives at an opportune
moment, when digital technology, currently surfing on a wave of
irrational exuberance about ubiquitous AI, is booming, while the
idea of shared prosperity has seemingly become a wistful pipe
dream."--John Naughton, The Observer
"[I]nsightful...A convincing attack on today's dysfunctional
economy plus admirable suggestions for correcting
matters."--Kirkus
"Acemoglu and Johnson give an incisive analysis of the economics of
labor and technology, along with a trenchant critique of the
'techno-optimism' of corporate visionaries...a stimulating call for
social and political action to ensure the rising tide of innovation
lifts all boats."--Publishers Weekly
"A book you must read: compelling, beautifully written, and tightly
argued, it addresses a crucially important problem with powerful
solutions. Drawing on both historical examples and a deep dive into
the ways in which artificial intelligence and social media depress
wages and undermine democracy, Acemoglu and Johnson argue for a
revolution in the way we manage and control technology. Throughout
history, it has only been when elites have been forced to share
power that technology has served the common good. Acemoglu and
Johnson show us what this would look like today."--Rebecca
Henderson, John and Natty McArthur University Professor, Harvard
University, and author of Reimagining Capitalism in a World on
Fire
"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. It reveals the realpolitik of technology as
a persistent Trojan horse for economic powers that favor the
profit-seeking aims of the few over the many. Power and Progress is
the blueprint we need for the challenges ahead: technology only
contributes to shared prosperity when it is tamed by democratic
rights, values, principles, and the laws that sustain them in our
daily lives."--Shoshana Zuboff, professor emeritus, Harvard
Business School, and author of The Age of Surveillance
Capitalism
"The technology of artificial intelligence is moving fast and
likely to accelerate. This powerful book shows we now need to make
some careful choices to really share the benefits and reduce
unintended, adverse consequences. Technology is too important to
leave to the billionaires. Everyone everywhere should read Acemoglu
and Johnson--and try to get a seat at the decision-making
table."--Ro Khanna, Silicon Valley member of Congress
"Two of the best economists alive today are taking a closer look at
the economics of technological progress in history. Their findings
are as surprising as they are disturbing. This beautifully written
and richly documented book marks a new beginning in our thinking
about the political economy of innovation."--Joel Mokyr, professor
of economics and history, Northwestern University
"Will the AI revolution increase the average worker's productivity
while recusing their drudgery, or will it simply create more
exploitative and heavily surveilled workplaces run by robotic
overlords? That is the right question, and luckily Acemoglu and
Johnson have set out to answer it, giving it profound historical
context, combing through the economic incentives, and lighting a
better path forward."--Cathy O'Neil, author of Weapons of Math
Destruction and The Shame Machine
"A remarkable analysis of the current drama of technology evolution
versus human dignity, where the potent forces boosting inequality
continue to destroy our belief in the nobility of work and the
inevitability of egalitarian progress. Acemoglu and Johnson offer a
fresh vision of how this drama unfolds by highlighting human
capabilities and social skills. They are deeply informed, masters
at synthesis, and passionate about shaping a better future where
innovation supports equality."--Ben Shneiderman, Distinguished
University Professor, University of Maryland, and author of
Human-Centered AI
"Acemoglu and Johnson have written a sweeping history of more than
a thousand years of technical change. They take aim at economists'
mindless enthusiasm for technical change and their crippling
neglect of power. An important book that is long overdue."--Sir
Angus Deaton, 2015 Nobel laureate in economics and coauthor of
Deaths of Despair
"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. Just
as the innovations of the Gilded Age of American industrialization
had to be reined in by progressive politics, so too, in our Coded
Age, we need not only trade unions, civil society, and
trustbusters, but also legislative and regulatory reforms to
prevent the advent of a new panopticon of AI-enabled surveillance.
This book will not endear the authors to Microsoft executives, but
it's a bracing wake-up call for the rest of us."--Niall Ferguson,
Milbank Family Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford
University, and author of The Square and the Tower
"America (and the world) is at a crossroads. Big business and the
rich rewrote the rules of the US political economy since the 1970s,
making it more grotesquely unfair than ever just as automation and
offshoring jobs changed the game as well. Now with AI, renowned MIT
economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson explain in their
important and lucid book how the transformation of work could make
life even worse for most people, or, possibly, much
better--depending on the political and social and technological
choices we make starting now. We must 'stop being mesmerized by
tech billionaires, ' they warn, because 'progress is never
automatic.' With revealing, relevant stories from throughout
economic history and sensible ideas for systemic reform, this is an
essential guide for this crucial battle in the 'one-thousand-year
struggle' between the powerful and everyone else."--Kurt Andersen,
author of Evil Geniuses
"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. Are powerful new
technologies guaranteed to benefit us? Did the industrial
revolution bring happiness to our great-grandparents 150 years ago,
and will artificial intelligence bring us more happiness now? Read,
enjoy, and then choose your lifestyle!"--Jared Diamond, Pulitzer
Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and other
international bestsellers
"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. Humans, despite their
imperfect institutions and often-contradictory impulses, remain in
the driver's seat. It is still our job to determine whether the
vehicles we build are heading toward justice or down the cliff. 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 and authors of Poor Economics and Good Economics for
Hard Times
"Our future is inevitable and determined by the acceleration of
technologies like AI and Web3. . . . Or so we are told. Here, from
two of the greatest economists of our time, we have the definitive
refutation of the techno-determinist story that has held us back
from building a better future for the last four decades. With a bit
of luck, we may look back at this as a turning point where we
collectively once again took responsibility for defining the world
we want technology to empower us to live in together."--E. Glen
Weyl, research lead and founder, Decentralized Social Technology
Collaboratory, Microsoft Research Special Projects
"Technology is upending our world--automating jobs, deepening
inequality, and creating tools of surveillance and misinformation
that threaten democracy. But Acemoglu and Johnson show it doesn't
have to be this way. The direction of technology is not, like the
direction of the wind, a force of nature beyond human control. It's
up to us. This humane and hopeful book shows how we can steer
technology to promote the public good. Required reading for
everyone who cares about the fate of democracy in a digital
age."--Michael J. Sandel, author of The Tyranny of Merit: Can We
Find the Common Good?
"This singular book elevated my understanding of the present
confluence of society, economics, and technology. Here we have a
synthesis of history and analysis coupled with specific ideas about
how the future can be improved. It pulls no punches but also
inspires optimism."--Jaron Lanier, author of Ten Arguments for
Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
"Innovation is undeniably a cool thing. Because of it, we survive
diseases that regularly used to kill us. We can access and process
unimaginable amounts of information. Without new technologies we
would never meet the challenge to decarbonize the economy and
contain climate change. But as Acemoglu and his MIT colleague Simon
Johnson point out in their forthcoming book, Power and Progress
(due out in May), contemporary evidence and the long story of
humanity's technological development confirm 'there is nothing
automatic about new technologies bringing widespread prosperity.
Whether they do or not is an economic, social, and political
choice.'"--Eduardo Porter, Bloomberg
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