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A review by branch_c
The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies by Andrew McAfee, Erik Brynjolfsson
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.