Título: Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity
Autor: Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson
Sinopse: A bold reinterpretation of economics and history revealing why technology does not inevitably lead to shared prosperity, and how we must redirect innovation in the age of AI to benefit all.
A thousand years of history and contemporary evidence make it clear that 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. At no point has this been truer than the crossroads we face today. The transformation of work by digital technologies and AI could make life better for most people, or possibly much worse—depending on the economic, social, and political choices we make.
Through powerful, illuminating examples, Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson fundamentally change how we see the world. 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. The era of the 1950s through the 1970s, similar to today, was one of rapid technological advancement, yet also one of increasing prosperity for many.
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 the path of technology was once—and may again—be brought under control. Cutting-edge technological advances can become empowering and democratizing tools, but not if all major decisions remain in the hands of a few hubristic tech leaders.
With their bold reinterpretation of economics and history, Acemoglu and Johnson provide the vision needed to redirect innovation so it again benefits most people.
Contexto da obra
Como livro em inglês, esta obra costuma ganhar também uma camada própria de interesse editorial e linguístico. “Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity”, de Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, publicado pela editora PublicAffairs, em 2024 e com 560 páginas, integra a categoria Livros em Inglês. Por isso, o interesse da obra tende a se ampliar quando o leitor considera também a relação com a língua em que ela circula.
Editora: PublicAffairs
Páginas: 560
Ano: 2024
Edição:
Linguagem: en
ISBN: 1541702549
ISBN13: 9781541702547
Sobre a editora
Os livros da editora PublicAffairs oferecem uma leitura que combina rigor investigativo e narrativa envolvente, frequentemente centrada em temas de história recente, política, economia e questões sociais profundas. O catálogo privilegia obras que exploram conflitos humanos em contextos históricos ou institucionais complexos, como crises econômicas, guerras, movimentos sociais e transformações culturais. A linguagem tende a ser clara e acessível, mesmo quando trata de assuntos densos, favorecendo um tom analítico e crítico que convida à reflexão. Há uma presença marcante de relatos biográficos e histórias reais que trazem à tona personagens que enfrentam dilemas éticos e desafios históricos, com ritmo que equilibra detalhamento e fluidez.
