Technological progress in a market economy need not impoverish unskilled workers

Berkeley

FORMER US treasury secretary Larry Summers recently took exception to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's views on "artificial intelligence" (AI) and related topics. The difference between the two seems to be, more than anything else, a matter of priorities and emphasis.

Mr Mnuchin takes a narrow approach. He thinks that the problem of particular technologies called "artificial intelligence taking over American jobs" lies "far in the future". And he seems to question the high stockmarket valuations for "unicorns" - companies valued at or above US$1 billion that have no record of producing revenues that would justify their supposed worth and no clear plan to do so.

Mr Summers takes a broader view. He looks at the "impact of technology on jobs" generally, and considers the stockmarket valuation for highly profitable technology companies such as Google and Apple…