Dont let tech gurus decide the future: Nobel winner Simon Johnson [Video]

Should our future by decided by the bosses of big tech firms? For Nobel economics prize winner Simon Johnson, giving too much power to a handful of billionaires will come at the expense of public interest.

The British-American economist who teaches at MIT also stressed that the development of artificial intelligence (AI) should benefit less qualified workers.

Automation and its impact upon jobs is one of Johnson’s favourite elements in the relationship between democracy and economic prosperity, the subject which won him the Nobel alongside Turkish-American economist Daron Acemoglu and British-American James Robinson.

AFP spoke with Johnson by telephone and the interview has been edited for length.

Your work looks at the link between democratic institutions and economic progress, but in Western nations many are turning to populist movements as they feel they are missing out on growth. How do you explain this?

I was actually in France during your …