Versus is a new podcast from Intelligent Squared, exploring those little debates that are always a big deal to someone. New episodes dropping every week and the winning result decided by you, the listeners. On today's episode we're discussing humanity's thousand year struggle over technology and prosperity. Our guest for this conversation is Karl Miller, Research Director at Demos and author of The Death of the Gods, The New Global Power Grab.
In the Middle Ages, agricultural advancements enriched the nobility and the Church, which used the wealth generated to build themselves magnificent houses and cathedrals, while the peasants went hungry. The early years of England’s industrial revolution brought stagnant incomes for the working class. In recent decades technological advances have put untold amounts of wealth into the hands of the 0.1 per cent, while today, the sudden leap forward in artificial intelligence is threatening jobs and democracy through automation, data collection, and surveillance.
But does it have to be this way? MIT economist Daron Acemoglu has an alternative vision. His big idea: wrest control of AI from the hands of a few arrogant tech leaders and empower society instead. Is technology too important to leave to the billionaires? Can AI really be democratised? Listen now to this conversation hosted by Carl Miller, recorded in London.
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