The Political Economy of Artificial Intelligence and Shared Prosperity (legrandcontinent.eu)

• Technological progress is not inherently pro-worker; institutional power dictates wealth distribution.
• The 'productivity bandwagon' fails when technology replaces labor instead of enhancing it.
• Historical precedents, such as the cotton gin, show how technology can facilitate exploitation under coercive structures.

"Daron Acemoğlu challenges the 'productivity bandwagon' theory—the belief that technology automatically improves worker welfare. Through historical analysis of agrarian history and the industrial revolution, he demonstrates that gains from innovation are mediated by institutional power. If technology focuses solely on automation rather than augmenting human capability, it displaces workers rather than increasing their value. The article warns that without deliberate institutional design and power-balancing mechanisms, the current wave of AI development risks concentrating wealth among owners while marginalizing the labor force, necessitating active public debate on control and governance."