Simon Johnson explores the deep history of Power and Progress in relation to ChatGPT

Innovation has always purported to improve the lives of everyone across the board but has a long-standing history of empowering only a select few, warns Simon Johnson. His latest book, co-written with Daron Acemoglu, is titled ‘Power and Progress’, which aims to delve into the thousand-year backstory behind ChatGPT. Johnson argues that automation and machines, present for over a thousand years, have been used to replace labor and make humans more productive. While the Industrial Revolution allowed for capitalists to accumulate a great wealth, it did not translate to better living standards for workers. Even in the modern era, only a small elite class enjoys the full benefits of new technological advancements, such as the rank and file at FAANG-style organisations. Johnson contends that redirecting technology to ensure shared prosperity is a possibility, citing the tactics of turn-of-the-20th-century American Progressives and their muckraker investigative journalism that campaigned for social reform as a precursor. Progressives’ tactics were known for sensationalism rather than effectiveness, yet it managed to change people’s minds about trusts and big oil. Johnson believes that by building alternative visions and transparency for consumers, we can ensure technological advancements are more inclusive. This includes breaking up colossal tech giants and treating consumers more fairly. Johnson emphasizes the need to redirect federal science dollars and thinks of those in the context of generative AI and who controls the ‘means of information.’