Innovation + Equality: How to Create a Future That Is More Star Trek Than Terminator (The MIT Press)

Artificial intelligence, genetics research, and materials science study have benefited society collectively and rewarded innovators handsomely- we get cool smartphones and technology moguls become billionaires. This contributes to a growing wealth gap; in the United States; the wealth controlled by the top 0.1 percent of households equals that of the bottom ninety percent. Is this the inevitable cost of an innovation-driven economy? Economist Joshua Gans and policy maker Andrew Leigh make the case that pursuing innovation does not mean giving up on equality--precisely the opposite. In this book, they outline ways that society can become both more entrepreneurial and more egalitarian through policies that promote both innovation and equality. If we encourage innovation in the right way, our future can look more like the cheerful techno-utopia of Star Trek than the dark techno-dystopia of The Terminator.