All That Was Old Is New Again 0
Der Spiegel has a fascinating interview with MIT economics professor Daron Acemoglu on the effects of advances in technology on society, with a focus on AI. As he looks at the effects of technological changes in history, Acemoglu sees parallels. Here’s a tiny little bit from the article.
DER SPIEGEL: But it is true that humankind has indeed benefited a lot from new technologies.
Acemoglu: That is the reason we have to go so far back in history. The argument that you just gave is wrong. In the past, we’ve always had struggles over the uses of innovation and who benefits from them. Very often, control was in the hands of a narrow elite. Innovation often did not benefit the broad swaths of the population.
DER SPIEGEL: Has the standard of living not risen steadily?
Acemoglu: Today, we are so much more prosperous than the people in earlier ages, that’s true. But there is a tendency to think that the path between must have been a straightforward and inevitable process. We all tend to gloss over the difficulties on the way.
DER SPIEGEL: What do you mean exactly?
Acemoglu: Take medieval windmills, a very transformative technology. It changed the organization of textile manufacturing, but especially agriculture. But you didn’t see much improvement in the conditions of the peasants. The windmills were controlled by landowners and churches. This narrow elite collected the gains. They decided who could use the windmills. They killed off competition.
I commend the complete interview to your attention.
Aside:
You can see this playing out in the current AWG SAG-AFTRA stike.
