The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies (43 page)

—Marc Andreessen, cofounder of
Netscape and Andreessen Horowitz

“What globalization was to the economic debates of the late 20th century, technological change is to the early 21st century. Long after the financial crisis and great recession have receded, the issues raised in this important book will be central to our lives and our politics.”

—Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot
University Professor at Harvard University

“Technology is overturning the world’s economies, and
The Second Machine Age
is the best explanation of this revolution yet written.”

—Kevin Kelly, senior maverick for
Wired
and author of
What Technology Wants

“Brynjolfsson and McAfee take us on a whirlwind tour of innovators and innovations around the world. But this isn’t just casual sightseeing. Along the way, they describe how these technological wonders came to be, why they are important, and where they are headed.”

—Hal Varian, chief economist at Google

“In this optimistic book Brynjolfsson and McAfee clearly explain the bounty that awaits us from intelligent machines. But they argue that creating the bounty depends on finding ways to race
with
the machine rather than racing
against
the machine. That means people like me need to build machines that are easy to master and use. Ultimately, those who embrace the new technologies will be the ones who benefit most.”

—Rodney Brooks, chairman and
CTO of Rethink Robotics, Inc

“New technologies may bring about our economic salvation or they may threaten our very livelihoods . . . or they may do both. Brynjolfsson and McAfee have written an important book on the technology-driven opportunities and challenges we all face in the next decade. Anyone who wants to understand how amazing new technologies are transforming our economy should start here.”

—Austan Goolsbee, professor of economics at the University
of Chicago Booth School of Business and former
chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers

“After reading this book, your world view will be flipped: you’ll see that collective intelligence will come not only from networked brains but also from massively connected and intelligent machines. In the near future, the best job to have will be the one you would do for free.”

—Nicholas Negroponte, cofounder of the
MIT Media Lab, founder of One Laptop
per Child, and author of
Being Digital

“
The Second Machine Age
helps us all better understand the new age we are entering, an age in which by working with the machine we can unleash the full power of human ingenuity. This provocative book is both grounded and visionary, with highly approachable economic analyses that add depth to their vision. A must-read.”

—John Seely Brown, coauthor of
The Power of Pull
and
A New Culture of Learning

“Brynjolfsson and McAfee do an amazing job of explaining the progression of technology, giving us a glimpse of the future, and explaining the economics of these advances. And they provide sound policy prescriptions. Their book could also have been titled Exponential Economics 101—it is a must-read.”

—Vivek Wadhwa, director of research at Duke
University’s Pratt School of Engineering
and author of
The Immigrant Exodus

Also by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee

RACE AGAINST THE MACHINE

How the Digital Revolution Is Accelerating Innovation,
Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment
and the Economy

Also by Erik Brynjolfsson

WIRED FOR INNOVATION

Also by Andrew McAfee

ENTERPRISE 2.0

New Collaborative Tools for your Organization’s Toughest Challenges

First Edition

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,

500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110