
The Technology Trap
Capital, Labor, and Power in the Age of Automation
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Narrated by:
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Richard Lyddon
How the history of technological revolutions can help us better understand economic and political polarization in the age of automation
From the Industrial Revolution to the age of artificial intelligence, The Technology Trap takes a sweeping look at the history of technological progress and how it has radically shifted the distribution of economic and political power among society’s members. As Carl Benedikt Frey reveals, the Industrial Revolution created unprecedented wealth and prosperity over the long run, but the immediate consequences of mechanization were devastating for large swaths of the population. Middle-income jobs withered, wages stagnated, the labor share of income fell, profits surged, and economic inequality skyrocketed. These trends, Frey documents, broadly mirror those in our current age of automation, which began with the Computer Revolution.
Just as the Industrial Revolution eventually brought about extraordinary benefits for society, artificial intelligence systems have the potential to do the same. But Frey argues that this depends on how the short term is managed. In the 19th century, workers violently expressed their concerns over machines taking their jobs. The Luddite uprisings joined a long wave of machinery riots that swept across Europe and China. Today’s despairing middle class has not resorted to physical force, but their frustration has led to rising populism and the increasing fragmentation of society. As middle-class jobs continue to come under pressure, there’s no assurance that positive attitudes to technology will persist.
The Industrial Revolution was a defining moment in history, but few grasped its enormous consequences at the time. The Technology Trap demonstrates that in the midst of another technological revolution, the lessons of the past can help us to more effectively face the present.
©2019 Carl Benedikt Frey (P)2019 Princeton University PressListeners also enjoyed...




















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future of work
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Liked but not loved
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Good historical argument on the impact of tech on the economy
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Interesting and current topic explained
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Good look at today in historical context
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Very good
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One of the best books I have ever read
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1. Objective: looks at both the positive and negtive influence of technology on human labor, productivity and economic development.
2. Plenty of historical references to compare and contrast with the present and near future
3. Las part of the book is filled with interesting and perceptive conclusions on what lies ahead regarding AI and the future of humanity.
Now the bad:
1. Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive
2. Requires a whole lot of editing
3. Book could be half the length and transmit the same message
Rating: 3.5
The good and the bad...
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Long and dry
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I expected more than this
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