In his recent statements, Nobel Prize winner in economics for 2024, Simon Johnson, who is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, warned of the danger of giving leaders of major technology companies broad power that affects the future of society.
In a telephone interview with Agence France-Presse, Johnson emphasized the importance of ensuring that less capable individuals benefit from artificial intelligence, pointing out the potential risks of work automation, a topic he considers a priority in his research, along with studying the relationship between democracy and economic growth.
Johnson won the Nobel Prize in Economics for 2024 along with Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. When discussing the relationship between democratic institutions and economic progress, Johnson noted that many people in Western countries are turning to populist movements because they feel excluded from economic growth.
Johnson described his experience in France during the recent elections, where he felt that even people in prosperous areas were also feeling disappointed and frustrated, reflecting a similar reality in the United States. He considered the inability to achieve positive results in people’s lives a problem that must be solved by providing more high-quality jobs.
Regarding the impact of artificial intelligence, Johnson raised questions about whether it will lead to increased productivity and wages for less skilled workers, or if it will lead to excessive automation replacing human labor with automated machines. He also pointed out that the main beneficiaries of artificial intelligence are large technology companies, questioning the suitability of granting them this great power.
He stressed the importance of not allowing major governments to allow technology players to control innovation and deployment, as what society will get will be the vision of these individuals for the future, not what serves the people’s interests.
In the context of the discussion about the need for stricter laws for major technology companies, Johnson mentioned that the economic model of companies like “Meta” and “Alphabet” heavily relies on digital advertising, negatively impacting mental health and democracy.
Johnson recommended imposing high taxes on digital advertising, pointing out that this step could provide significant additional revenues for the US government, which could be used to support mental health, especially for children. He concluded that pressuring these companies to change their economic model would be beneficial on several levels, including strengthening democracy and creating common ground.
