Should our future be decided by the executives of big technology companies? For Nobel Prize winner Simon Johnson, giving too much power to a few billionaires comes at the expense of the public interest.
The British-American economist who teaches at MIT also emphasized that the development of artificial intelligence (AI) should benefit less qualified workers.
Automation and its impact on jobs is one of Mr Johnson’s favorite elements in the relationship between democracy and economic prosperity, and is one of Johnson’s favorite aspects of the relationship between democracy and economic prosperity, along with Turkish-American economist Daron Acemoglu and British-American James Robinson. This is the theme for which he and I won the Nobel Prize.
AFP spoke to Johnson by phone and the interview has been edited for length.
Q. Your research looks at the relationship between democratic institutions and economic development, and many Western countries feel they are missing out on growth and are turning to populist movements. How do you explain this?
I was actually in France during the recent elections…I’m no expert on France, but from those conversations and my first-hand observations, even in the wealthier areas of France…people were disappointed and It sounds like you are dissatisfied. I feel that democracy is not being realized…
So not being able to deliver results to people is a problem, and of course we have to deal with it, and we have to deal with it by producing better work, and that’s what all It’s the basic foundation. Jobs that are more productive, pay better, have better working and living conditions than they had before, or even better than their parents…and if a system that makes reasonable promises about such things fails. Then. Yes, I think we should be prepared for some disappointment and some backlash in order to deliver.
Will AI increase productivity and wages for low-skilled workers, or will it become a vehicle for so-called over-automation, essentially firing workers from grocery stores and replacing them with self-checkout kiosks?
Q. Who would benefit from AI in that case? Better educated workers?
Let’s be honest… AI primarily benefits big tech companies. In moments like these, the people who envision the technology and the vision that shapes it are critical. And of course, these people are considered heroes at this time. But I think we have to ask ourselves. Should we put so much power in the hands of one, two, three, or a few people?
Don’t let the big tech gurus control what gets developed, how it’s used and how it impacts work…you’ll understand their vision of the future . And not for you, not for your people, not for your community, but for their wealth…
Q. Do we need more regulation of Big Tech?
The business models of Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and Alphabet (Google) and several others are driven by digital advertising. The way digital advertising works is to grab your attention, sway you, and manipulate your emotions. By the way, this is bad for mental health, it’s very bad for children, and it’s terrible for democracy. Because what they want is for you to get really worked up and get mad at other people, yell at them, and do things like… no one would act in public. Therefore, you need to realize that digital advertising is like cigarettes or junk food.
I’m not suggesting banning it, and I don’t think it would work, but it should be heavily taxed. In any case, our proposal (with Daron Acemoglu) would impose a fairly high tax on digital advertising, which would generate approximately $200 billion in additional revenue for the United States, which is a significant amount. So…we propose the following. Congress could put some of this tax money toward mental health, including children’s mental health.
And in any case, encouraging these companies to change their business models and reduce their reliance on digital advertising would be good for many people in many ways, including in terms of democracy… We have to de-escalate, we have to go back to finding common ground to eliminate polarization.
Recommended newsletters
Data Sheet: Stay on top of the latest in the business of technology with thoughtful analysis of the industry’s biggest companies.
Sign up here.
Source link
