Andrew McAfee on Digital Innovation, Employment and Productivity

On the podcast this week, Andrew McAfee, Principal Research Scientist at MIT's Center for Digital Business, discusses his new book, co-authored with Erik Brynjolfsson, entitled, "Race Against the Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy." The book looks at the interplay between unemployment and fast-paced technological innovation. In the book, McAfee and Brynjolfsson propose that technology is outpacing humans, and they discuss whether humans can keep up. According to McAfee, technology is encroaching on skills that once belonged exclusively to humans. He believes that entrepreneurial thinking, different institutions, and new organizational structures can prevent humans from being left behind by the machines.

Related Links

"Race Against The Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy", by McAfee & Brynjolfsson"More Jobs Predicted for Machines, Not People", New York Times"Race Against the Machine* and TGS, a comparison", Marginal Revolution"Are You An Internet Optimist or Pessimist? The Great Debate over Technology's Impact on Society", Technology Liberation Front

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