The bestselling co-author of Why Nations Fail and the bestselling co-author of 13 Bankers deliver a bold reinterpretation of economics and history that will fundamentally change how you see the world A thousand years of history and contemporary evidence make one thing clear. Progress 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. The wealth generated by technological improvements in agriculture during the European Middle Ages was captured by the nobility and used to build grand cathedrals while peasants remained on the edge of starvation. The first hundred years of industrialization in England delivered stagnant incomes for working people. And throughout the world today, digital technologies and artificial intelligence undermine jobs and 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 may 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. With their breakthrough economic theory and manifesto for a better society, Acemoglu and Johnson provide the vision needed to reshape how we innovate and who really gains from technological advances.
"Es una compilación de pruebas históricas que nos demuestran la importancia de las élites en las decisiones sobre la adopción de tecnologías. Nos muestra lo fundamental de contar con líderes con sentido social, capaces de buscar que la tecnología, en vez de beneficiar unos pocos y esclavizar a muchos, como suele pasar, permita generar mejores condiciones de vida. Una obra de indispensable lectura para entender nuestro devenir con tecnologías como la IA."