Power and Progress: MIT Prof. Daron Acemoglu on Techno-Optimism in the Era of AI | Technovation 796

Daron Acemoglu, Elizabeth & James Killian Professor of Economics at MIT and author, joins the broadcast to speak about his perspective on techno-optimism in the era of artificial intelligence and other insights coming from his latest book, Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity, which appeared on the Financial Times Business Book of the Year 2023 List. Daron issues a warning about blind optimism during this pivotal moment in technology and draws on the key themes of power dynamics, techno-optimism, and effective regulation strategies from his book to explain the balance between power and progress and ways to counteract the accrual of power to a select few. He explains the three countervailing forces of democracy, worker voice, and regulation; the two key problems with regulations surrounding generative artificial intelligence; and what this future of AI regulation means on a global scale. Finally, as a writer himself, Daron talks about the ongoing Writer’s Strike as a defense against Generative AI, the potential benefits generative AI will have for writers of the future, and why he is optimistic about generative AI being a “job helper”.
0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:02 Genesis of Daron's Latest Book
0:03:06 Ferdinand de Lesseps as an Early Techno-Optimist
0:06:11 Warning Against Blind Optimism
0:07:35 Balancing Power and Progress
0:09:42 Ways to Counteract Power Accruing to the Few
0:13:33 Issues in Market Fundamentalism
0:15:26 Daron's Opinion on Generative AI Policy
0:18:57 Effectively Implementing Generative AI Regulations on a Global Scale
0:23:05 Comparing Foreign and US Union Models
0:28:26 The Writer's Strike as a Defense Against Generative AI
0:32:17 Daron's Perspective as a Writer on Generative AI
0:38:31 Generative AI as a Job Helper, Not Destroyer
0:43:08 Daron's Perspective on China's Technology Regulations
0:47:55 Outro
An audio-only version of this interview is available as episode 796 of Metis Strategy’s podcast, #Technovation with Peter High. Learn more at bit.ly/Technovation-796.
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