Nobel Economist Warns: AI Will Destroy Democracy

In the West, liberal democracy, or social democracy, has over the past century become the dominant political system: the water we swim in. But in an age of climate change, runaway inequality, big tech oligopolies, and rising fascism, the system that once promised so much to so many is breaking under the strain. On Downstream this week is Daron Acemoglu, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics.

His 2012 book ‘Why Nations Fail’ sold over a million copies. This week, he’s here to discuss his latest work, ‘What Happened to Liberal Democracy?’ – a data-packed book that seeks to diagnose and remedy democracy before it’s too late. When and why did liberal democracy stop working for the many? What happened during the transition from an industrial to a post-industrial economy?

How important has the loss of community been? When did progressive politics become overrun by middle-class interests? How does AI further threaten our capacity to self-govern and lead flourishing lives? What could a pro-worker AI look like, and how can we achieve it?