Power and Progress

A book you must read: compelling, beautifully written, and tightly argued, it addresses a crucially important problem with powerful solutions

Rebecca Henderson, author of REIMAGINING CAPITALISM IN A WORLD ON FIRE

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, author of THE SQUARE AND THE TOWER

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

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

A remarkable analysis of the current drama of technology evolution versus human dignity . . . 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 Schneiderman, author of HUMAN-CENTERED AI

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

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 . . . 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 Anderson, author of EVIL GENIUSES

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

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

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

Faced with fresh upheaval, the authors make a positive case for how societies can maximise the benefits of our powerful new technologies to the advantage of all

Financial Times, 'Best Books of 2023 - Technology'

A call to arms

Irish Times

Important and absorbing

Observer

An important new book

Bloomberg

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 . . . 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

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

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, Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University, and author of THE LEVER OF RICHES: TECHNOLOGICAL CREATIVITY AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS

Decisions on how we manage this tension between risk and opportunity are ultimately political. In their remarkable book Power and Progress, economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson provide a compelling framework for thinking this through

Guardian