, Columnist
We May Be Exactly Wrong About Technology and Inequality
Robots, artificial intelligence and new sources of energy will empower workers, drive more innovation and raise demand for labor.
Robots will create jobs, not just take them away
Photographer: Bloomberg
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One perennial concern about new technology is that it will create a more unequal world, reducing wages and widening the divide between the haves and have-nots. Those fears have acquired a more panicked urgency with the rapid adoption of robotics and artificial intelligence.
It’s easy for this kind of apprehension to lead to a sort of neo-Luddism in which technology is viewed as the enemy. So I want to talk about another possibility: That new technology could actually help reduce inequality. The world should be ready for both outcomes.