Brian Arthur is a storied economist and complexity thinker. He is a pioneer in a number of disciplines including increasing returns, complexity economics, and the evolution of technology. Brian previously served on the science board and the board of trustees of Santa Fe Institute.  He is one of the youngest endowed chair holders at Stanford University.  Brian is also the author of The Nature of Technology: What it is and how it evolves. 



Our conversation with Brian centers on technology and its manifestation within economic systems. More specifically, we cover: the nature and evolution of technology, the role of software in shaping economic systems, the concept of increasing returns, and Star Wars as a representation of the human condition. 



About Brian Arthur:



W. Brian Arthur – WikipediaW. Brian Arthur – Santa Fe    W. Brian Arthur – Google Scholar 



Books:



The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It EvolvesComplexity and the Economy Complexity Economics: Proceedings of the Santa Fe Institute’s 2019 Fall Symposium  



Articles:



Where is technology taking the economy? Increasing Returns and the New World of Business  



Recommendations/References:



Walter G. Vincenti Samuel ButlerCormac McCarthyPodcast: Complexity



Luminary Podcast:



Visit usFollow us on TwitterLuminary on Linkedin Luminary on Youtube Channel



Music:



Music used in this podcast: Simplex Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0Chipper Doodle Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
The post Brian Arthur on technology, software, and economic systems appeared first on Luminary.fm.

Brian Arthur on technology, software, and economic systems

Kitchen table-style conversations with some of the world’s brightest minds, exploring boundaries of human knowledge. Join us on a pursuit to discover the ideas, intuition, theories and thoughts behind these luminaries.

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Tim O’Reilly is the founder, CEO, and Chairman of O’Reilly Media, a company that has profoundly impacted how generations of software engineers and computer hobbyists have learned programming. Tim is of course a luminary of the technology industry and hardly needs an introduction. It is difficult to overstate the importance of his contributions. Tim has been active in the open source and internet community for decades, providing the intellectual inspiration behind terms like open source software and web 2.0.



Our conversation with Tim centers around open source. We discuss: the characteristics of open source software, which company has best executed on its open source strategy, and how the open source ethos has influenced the tech industry and beyond. We also cover Tim’s latest project around algorithmic rents.



About and From Tim O’Reilly:




Tim O’Reilly: Various Things I’ve Written 



Tim O’Reilly – Wikipedia




Recommendations and References:




Richard Stallman



David Stutz



The Man Watching by Rainer Maria Rilke



The Dawn of Everything



Marriana Mazzucato



Herbert Simon



Economics for the Common Good



The Paris Wife



Working Days



East of Eden



David Graeber

The post Tim O’Reilly on Open Source Alchemy: Shaping the Tech Landscape appeared first on Luminary.fm.

Tim O’Reilly on Open Source Alchemy: Shaping the Tech Landscape

Yochai Benkler is a professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School and co-director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Yochai is known for coining the term commons-based peer production which describes collaborative efforts or social production in the creation of information goods such as Apache server or Wikipedia. In 2012, he received a lifetime achievement award from Oxford University in recognition of his contribution to the study and public understanding of the Internet and information goods. Yochai has written a number of influential books, including The Wealth of Networks, Network Propaganda, and the Penguin and Leviathan. 



Our conversation with Yochai focuses on the role of capitalism, institutions, and ideology in shaping technology and societal outcomes. Yochai’s theory centers around the notion that it is not technology and software that shape change, but rather that the dynamics of power-seeking in capitalism have subsumed and directed technology and software towards the same aim as it always had — which is to maximize profit for a narrow set of profit-reaping classes while legitimizing it under a patina of claims of self-actualization, democratization, social mobility, and improvement in well-being for all. Yochai’s framework pushes back on the prevailing wisdom that technology is the cause of change but rather an arena where the dynamics of capitalism established since the 17th century are driving, while a naturalized view of technology is simply a red herring.



We also discuss the political economy of technology, commons-based peer production as a value generation model, and the value of decentralized blockchain systems like bitcoin and ethereum.This was a very refreshing conversation. It’s clear the world could learn a lot from the wisdom of Yochai Benkler.



About and From Yochai Benkler:




Director, Berkman Klein Center for Entrepreneurial Studies 



Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman Professor for Entrepreneurial Legal Studies



Personal website



Practical Anarchism: Peer Mutualism, Market Power, and the Fallible State



The Role of Technology in Political Economy: Part 1



The Role of Technology in Political Economy: Part 2



The Role of Technology in Political Economy: Part 3



Power and Productivity: Institutions, Ideology, and Technology in Political Economy



The Penguin and the Leviathan




Recommendations and References:




Heart of Darkness



Black Reconstruction



Shardlake series





The post Yochai Benkler on Tech’s True Forces: Capitalism, Institutions, and Ideological Impact appeared first on Luminary.fm.

Yochai Benkler on Tech’s True Forces: Capitalism, Institutions, and Ideological Impact

Jason Crawford is the founder of Roots of Progress and a prolific writer on all things technology and progress. Jason was previously a startup founder and engineering manager. His mission is to understand the causes of progress and help usher in a new era of human advancement via a philosophy of progress fit for the 21st century. You can find his essays on rootsofprogress.org.



Our conversation with Jason centers around progress and the history of technology. We cover the relationship between human civilization and technology, assorted inventions, and lessons to consider in the development and implementation of future technologies. We also talk about why progress matters, how things went wrong in the 20th century, and Jason’s idea of a new philosophy of progress. Jason has encyclopedic knowledge of diverse topics which made this an especially rich conversation.



About and From Jason Crawford:




https://jasoncrawford.org/



https://rootsofprogress.org/



https://twitter.com/jasoncrawford 



The spiritual benefits of material progress 




Recommendations and References:




The Ascent of Man: Bronowski, Jacob, Dawkins, Richard



On the Origin of Clockwork, Perpetual Motion Devices, and the Compass



Economics of the singularity | IEEE Journals & Magazine   



Robin Hansen



The Population Explosion



Charles I. Jones – Wikipedia



Paul Romer – Wikipedia



Robert Solow – Wikipedia



One Process | Reaction Wheel



Derek Thompson (journalist) – Wikipedia



Noahpinion



Ezra Klein – The New York Times



David Deutsch



Steven Pinker 



Where Is My Flying Car? (Audible Audio Edition): J. Storrs Hall, Jonathan Todd Ross, Stripe Press: Books 



Ayn Rand – Wikipedia



The Industrial Revolution



The Conservative Futurist by James Pethokoukis | Hachette Book Group



The Industrial Revolution, 1760-1830 – T. S. Ashton – Oxford University Press



Slate Star Codex



FreakTakes



The Lunar Society



The Making of the Atomic Bomb | Book by Richard Rhodes | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

The post Jason Crawford on progress and the history of technology  appeared first on Luminary.fm.

Jason Crawford on progress and the history of technology

Noah Smith is a renaissance man, blogger, and commentator. Noah’s popular blog, Noahpinion, focuses on economics, technology, and current events. He was previously a columnist for Bloomberg and an assistant professor of Behavioral finance at Stony Brook University.



Our wide-ranging conversation covers digital technology, economics, and energy. We discuss Noah’s framework for thinking about technology, digital technology adoption and its implications for economic activity, measures of technological advancement, opportunities and challenges for solar and nuclear energy, and the Noah Smith production function. 



About and From Noah Smith:




Noah Smith (writer) – Wikipedia 



Noahpinion



Noah Smith  (@Noahpinion) / Twitter  



140 – The Future is Fiat | Noah Smith (Noahpinion)



Interview: Tyler Cowen, economist and public intellectual  



Globalization Is Narrowing the Wealth Gap, One Nation at a Time




Recommendations and References:




Ramez Naam



Robert J Gordon



The New Argonauts



Kardashev Scale



The Measure of Civilization



Grasping Reality, Brad DeLong



Hannah Ritchie



Faster Please



Matthew Yglesias



David Roberts



David Thompson



Jerusalem Demsas



Ezra Klein



Odd Lots



Packy McCormick



Roon



Sam D’Amico

The post Noah Smith on digital technology adoption, energy, and economic progress appeared first on Luminary.fm.

Noah Smith on digital technology adoption, energy, and economic progress

Carlota Perez is a pre-eminent multi-disciplinarian, scholar, and author. Carlota studies the nature of technological change and economic systems, and the lessons provided by the history of technological revolutions. Her book, Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital, is a landmark contribution to the study of technological innovation and change. She has received numerous awards and accolades including most recently an Honorary Doctorate by Utrecht University in the Netherlands. 



Our conversation with Carlota centers around her framework for studying technological change and the adoption of digital technologies. We discuss the ideas behind technology cycles, the role of capitalism in influencing change, the difference between the current digital paradigm and prior technology revolutions, the role government can play in accelerating the adoption of digital technologies, and get a preview of her upcoming book which features the role of governments in shaping technological revolutions. 



About and From Carlota Perez:




Personal website



Carlota Perez: Wikipedia



Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital



The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State



Carlota Perez (@CarlotaPrzPerez) / Twitter



Carlota Perez | UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose – UCL – University College London



Carlota Perez – Agenda Contributor | World Economic Forum





The post Carlota Perez on technological revolutions and capitalism  appeared first on Luminary.fm.

Brian Arthur on technology, software, and economic systems

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