UNI congratulates Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson on Nobel win

UNI congratulates Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson who, along with James Robinson, won the Nobel Prize in economics for their ground-breaking research into the role societal institutions play in perpetuating inequality.

Acemoglu and Johnson’s recent work draws attention to the stark choices our societies face as we stand on the precipice of an AI revolution. It exposes the myth that “technology-equals-progress” for what it is: a fantasy in service to economic – and often political – elites.

They wrote last year:

“Too many commentators see the path of technology as inevitable. But the historical record is clear: technologies develop according to the vision and choices of those in positions of power. As we document in Power and Progress: Our 1,000-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity, when these choices are left entirely in the hands of a small elite, you should expect that group to receive most of the benefits, while everyone else bears the costs—potentially for a long time. . . .[M]anagement needs to see and understand workers as a key resource whose productivity should be augmented, whose information should be improved, and whose training should be a priority.” 

Their writing is a call for activists and trade unions to create countervailing forces to make technology work for the many.  

“The labour movement is deeply indebted to Professors Acemoglu and Johnson for their work relating to AI. By illustrating technologies’ impacts on working people over a millennia, they stress that hardship caused by technology is often the reality for many workers but not inevitable. Their conclusion:  we must act now to shape the use of AI to maximize a shared benefit which allows workers dignity and a decent life.” 

UNI will welcome Professor Acemoglu who will make remarks at its upcoming meeting on “Unions and Generative AI.”