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edriessen's review against another edition
4.0
A good introduction on the impact the second machine age, the age we are at the start of, might have. It lacks a bit in the costs of having all the amazing technical innovations, but that’s not the point of the book (there are other books that do focus on it). Recommended read.
aaron_anderson's review against another edition
4.0
A balanced overview of how automation impacts our lives and how it might impact our future. The essays are data driven and optimistic, while still exploring the darker side of technological change.
bentrevett's review against another edition
3.0
yes, computers increased productivity. did you really need 250 pages to say that?
ztaylor4's review against another edition
5.0
I appreciate that the authors can provide dire news with optimism. This book makes a clear case for the necessity of staying technically relevant with policy recommendations for educational, immigration, and tax policy that are discouragingly unlike what we see in America today. If only more people were listening!
sarthak1682's review against another edition
1.0
Found it boring at the time I read it, which was around in 2020.
branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
This book provides a solid description of the transformation happening in the world due to technology and the implications for our society. The explanations and arguments made by the authors seemed sound to me for the most part. As a supporter of Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign, I was already aware of his description of “the fourth industrial revolution”, and this largely corresponds to what the authors of this book mean with their title.
I have to say that the beginning is a bit too “pop” science-y for me, with simplistic language and a bit of a condescending tone. Interestingly, this changes around chapter 7 and comes across as more professional for the rest of the book. The tone remains a bit uneven though, with occasional awkward wording.
The key point is that automation is having significant effects on labor and society, and these effects will almost certainly increase as technology becomes more mature and the use of artificial intelligence increases. While some argue that productivity has not increased as would be expected due to recent gains in automation, the authors point to data from earlier technological advances to demonstrate that the increases in productivity often lag behind the introduction of the technology. (p.106)
While correctly diagnosing the looming problems for an economy based on the value of human labor, the authors unfortunately fall into the trap of “work as a virtue”. Although they quote Clarke as having said “The goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play.” (p. 178), they give insufficient credit to the possibility of eliminating work altogether. They touch briefly on the idea of UBI, but dismiss it with reference to commentary from Voltaire (!) about how work saves us from boredom and vice, and instead promote negative income tax and other ideas as solutions.
The authors correctly recognize that new ideas are needed, and they don’t claim to have the final answers. This book is certainly worth reading, since more people should be aware of these issues so they can be thinking about solutions.
I have to say that the beginning is a bit too “pop” science-y for me, with simplistic language and a bit of a condescending tone. Interestingly, this changes around chapter 7 and comes across as more professional for the rest of the book. The tone remains a bit uneven though, with occasional awkward wording.
The key point is that automation is having significant effects on labor and society, and these effects will almost certainly increase as technology becomes more mature and the use of artificial intelligence increases. While some argue that productivity has not increased as would be expected due to recent gains in automation, the authors point to data from earlier technological advances to demonstrate that the increases in productivity often lag behind the introduction of the technology. (p.106)
While correctly diagnosing the looming problems for an economy based on the value of human labor, the authors unfortunately fall into the trap of “work as a virtue”. Although they quote Clarke as having said “The goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play.” (p. 178), they give insufficient credit to the possibility of eliminating work altogether. They touch briefly on the idea of UBI, but dismiss it with reference to commentary from Voltaire (!) about how work saves us from boredom and vice, and instead promote negative income tax and other ideas as solutions.
The authors correctly recognize that new ideas are needed, and they don’t claim to have the final answers. This book is certainly worth reading, since more people should be aware of these issues so they can be thinking about solutions.
liso's review against another edition
5.0
I work in IT and have spent most of my career working to stay ahead of the awesome creative destruction that pretty much defines the industry. This book rang true.
The authors set out to give the lay of the land - and do so quite well - and then compare it to previous bursts of innovation (industrial revolution, electricity). They build a compelling case for what is yet to come and back up their conclusions with mountains of data.
There's a lot of optimism about what the future of technology looks like. There's a lot of hard news for people whose job can be easily replaced by a machine. And there's a lot of advice for how we can best prepare.
If this book was written in the late 18th century, it would tell us that our career as a field laborer might not be the best option, but that now would be an excellent time to invest in steam engines and railroad stock.
If you're already in the workforce, this book will give you a valuable glimpse of what is coming. If you're in high school and are taking the important first steps of the rest of your life, drop what you're doing and buy this book right now. It may well change your life.
The authors set out to give the lay of the land - and do so quite well - and then compare it to previous bursts of innovation (industrial revolution, electricity). They build a compelling case for what is yet to come and back up their conclusions with mountains of data.
There's a lot of optimism about what the future of technology looks like. There's a lot of hard news for people whose job can be easily replaced by a machine. And there's a lot of advice for how we can best prepare.
If this book was written in the late 18th century, it would tell us that our career as a field laborer might not be the best option, but that now would be an excellent time to invest in steam engines and railroad stock.
If you're already in the workforce, this book will give you a valuable glimpse of what is coming. If you're in high school and are taking the important first steps of the rest of your life, drop what you're doing and buy this book right now. It may well change your life.
dhgwilliam's review against another edition
4.0
Worth reading although I'm not sure how much I learned. Balanced but also kind of obvious; then again i'm the choir.
almartin's review against another edition
4.0
Five stars for ideas to chew on; two stars for the prose. Definitely worth your time, but unfortunately you never forget which MIT department
produced the words that you're reading.
So, thesis:
What do we do about it? Not sure. One thing we definitely need to do a better job helping preparing kids for it; also thinking a lot about the EITC and negative income taxes. Jazzed for the new Piketty; will be turning Second Machine Age over in my head until then.
produced the words that you're reading.
So, thesis:
manifestations of progress are all based at least in part on digital technologies. When combined with political and economic systems that offer people choices instead of locking them in, technological advance is an awe-inspiring engine of betterment and bounty. It is also an engine driving spread, creating larger and larger differences over time in areas that we care about—wealth, income, standards of living, and opportunities for advancement.The world gets wealthier, innovation continues, but the spread between rich and poor grows ever-wider. I think that's what we're headed for, and I hope that more smart things get written about what to do about it. This essay remains my pick to click:
...the poor people have a good standard of living in terms of absolute magnitude, but they have little freedom. With a tight budget constraint (near the origin) obtusely and extremely scalening off in various directions of cheap stuff (sox, packaged food with lots of preservatives, canned food [can o’ corn], modular homes, satellite TV, Budweiser beer, … brand-name oreos, ATV’s and Harleys? Well I didn’t say it makes total sense), the only way to live like a richie is to buy specifically the stuff that is cheap — even if, as measured by eg, your Engel curve, that’s not what you really want...the robo-programmers are creating things for you and everyone else for cheaper than you used to get it before. However anything you want that doesn’t come out of the robo machine (like organic peaches) is going to suck up a lot of your income for something that’s just completely standard (like a fruit).I don't have it all put together yet, but I think that when we look back at the early 2000s we'll interpret OWS not so much as a direct response to bankers and bonuses but as the first expression of growing unease about this sea change in the economy, with ever-greater returns to 'superstars' at the top and technological unemployment at the bottom.
What do we do about it? Not sure. One thing we definitely need to do a better job helping preparing kids for it; also thinking a lot about the EITC and negative income taxes. Jazzed for the new Piketty; will be turning Second Machine Age over in my head until then.
hullabaloo87's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a roller coaster of emotions. Starting out very encouraging about the technological advances that has been made to a sort of anger about how the advances of automation mostly benefited the already very rich in getting richer. Then it shifted to a more melancholic feeling when the overall wealth and benefits of the digital age has made all of us richer as in cheaper products, sometimes free, but not in increased salary per say. It finishes with allot of great policies, reforms and recommendations on what to do to try to steer the ship in a "better" direction. This made me feel pumped about taking action, even though I'm just as influential as a person screaming at a horror movie when a supporting actor does something moronic.