MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Why the Power of Technology Rarely Goes to the People

In a new book, economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson provide a sweeping historical overview of just how unevenly the spoils and costs of technological change have been distributed. Power and Progress: Our 1,000-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity reminds us that technology is not itself a force but rather a tool that is developed to support the agendas of the people and institutions who hold power in society. Claiming a fair share of technology’s benefits for the rest of society — that is, for most of humanity — requires that that power be challenged. Acemoglu and Johnson chatted with features editor Kaushik Viswanath about what lessons the past holds for how we should develop and implement technology today and in the future. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

About the Author

Daron Acemoglu is an economist and an MIT Institute Professor, the university’s highest faculty honor. Simon Johnson is the Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at MIT and a former chief economist to the International Monetary Fund. They are the authors of Power and Progress: Our 1,000-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (PublicAffairs, 2023). Kaushik Viswanath is features editor at MIT Sloan Management Review.

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