The Machine Age: An Idea, a History, a Warning

The Machine Age: An Idea, a History, a Warning by Robert Skidelsky A sweeping history of humanity's relationship with machines, from our first tools to the present and into the future. This book explores how we got here and what happens next as faith in technological fixes for our problems wanes. Automation, which promised relief from toil, has reactivated the fear of job redundancy, while information technology has placed unprecedented powers of surveillance and control in the hands of a purely secular authority. Artificial intelligence now threatens anthropogenic disaster - disaster caused by our own activities. Skidelsky embarks on a bold intellectual journey through the evolution of our understanding of technology, tracing its interactions with capitalism, science, and religion in the making of the modern world. By examining the peaks of philosophy and triumphs of science, as well as the foundation of economics and speculations of fiction, Skidelsky raises crucial questions about why some parts of the world developed a 'machine civilisation' and not others. He argues that understanding technology as a system of ideas is essential to choosing the right technology for our needs and purposes.