Shaping the next revolution

Technological innovations – from new agricultural machinery to industrialisation and the invention of the computer – have powered economic progress over the past 1,000 years. But technological leaps do not automatically lead to living standards improvements, and can instead cause economic disruption and pose threats to workers.

As we stand on the precipice of a possible AI revolution, and desperately need a step change in our economic growth prospects, what can we learn from history about how to ensure that the next wave of technological progress feeds through into better living standards and higher wellbeing for citizens?

A ground-breaking new book – Power and Progress: Our Thousand-year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity by leading academics and authors Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson – answers this critical question through an examination of previous chapters of technological change. The authors set out what this experience suggests for today’s policy makers and citizens as they grapple with the implications of a new wave of technological disruption.

To mark the launch of the book, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a book launch at its Westminster office with author Daron Acemoglu, as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Daron will be joined by leading economist Diane Coyle to discuss how technology has shaped our economic history, and may shape our economic future too.