The authors revisit an age-old question: has technological progress meant prosperity for all? Assessing our thousand-year history, from the neolithic agricultural revolution to the ascent of artificial intelligence today, it becomes clear that the idea of shared prosperity continues to remain a distant dream. The geographical locations of technological changes contributed to the direction of technology and the type of progress in different parts of the world: western Europe and China became the centre for agriculture; Britain and the U.S. for the industrial revolution, and the U.S. and China for digital technologies. While different countries had different takes on technology adoption earlier on, its implication on the leading economies led to technologies being forced on the rest of the world subsequently. Such an approach remains far from inclusive as it broadly contributed to the wealth of those who pushed it.
What makes Power and Progress engrossing reading has much to do with the innumerable case stories that justify enthusiasm for technical change at the cost of crippling a large majority. Francis Bacon and the story of fire; Lesseps’ quest for building the Panama Canal; Stephenson’s wagon ways to move coal; McCormick’s machine tools for crop harvesting; and the techno-optimism of Bill Gates and Elon Musk shakes the reader to realize that across history it is the winner-take-technologies that has enforced more inequality and violence on global society. The realpolitik of technology for economic change is skewed, as there are two sides to technology. Acemoglu and Johnson give a large number of examples where progress in technology has led to huge gains for the rich at the expense of perceived recipients. That, according to them, is pretty much the history of the relationship between technological progress and people.
Technology is propagated for the promise it upholds but the benefits accrue after a very long time, and at times quite on the contrary. Better ships did help in trading, but it promoted slavery by shipping lakhs of black people. Back in 1871, Karl Marx had remarked that constant improvements in technology would create a vast reserve army of the unemployed. Over a century later, his words seem to be coming true as the promised transformation of life by artificial intelligence holds the possibility to make life worse for most people. John Keynes’ century-old lingering concerns about ‘technological unemployment’ are back in serious contention.
To reduce negative impacts on society, the authors suggest that debates on new technology ought to center not just on the brilliance of new products but also on whether they are working for the people or against people. To this end, Acemoglu and Johnson enlist a number of suggestions on what must be done to regulate privately-owned technologies that have inbuilt negative externalities for society.
Power and Progress is a fascinating narrative on technology and its effects through history and concludes that the “society and its powerful gatekeepers need to stop being mesmerized by tech billionaires and their agenda.” It is a must-read book that is revealing and reflective on progress that is never automatic unless society unites against the brute power of technology corporations. It is essential reading for everyone who not only cares about the present, but as much about the future of democracy to sustain society.
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