The Machine Age

An Idea, a History, a Warning

Robert Skidelsky

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English

Penguin Books Ltd
11 February 2025

Sociology: work & labour; Labour economics; Political economy; Impact of science & technology on society; Artificial intelligence

A sweeping history of and meditation on humanity's relationship with machines, showing how we got here and what happens next

We live in a world made by machines; their development set its beat. This book tells the story of our relationship with machines from humanity's first tools down to the present and into the future. It charts the causes and courses of technological progress across epochs, revealing its impedances and accelerants, its interactions with capital and ascent to the first principle of the modern era.

Tracing the promise of machines to liberate us from work and want and the accompanies threat of redundancy and subjection from ancient times to our own, Robert Skidelsky demonstrates how our creations not only reflect our ideas and ideals but also remake them. Taking in the peaks of philosophy and triumphs of science, the foundation of economics and speculations of fiction, he undertakes a fascinating intellectual journey through the evolution of our understanding of technology, and what this means for our lives and politics. It is an account that offers an escape from many assumptions about the potential and perils of machine learning and the technologies shaping the world now - and from the risks they pose to the future.

By: Robert Skidelsky
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 281g
ISBN: 9780141982519
ISBN 10: 0141982519
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 11 February 2025
Audience: College/higher education , General/trade , Professional and scholarly , Primary , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Robert Skidelsky is Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick. His three volume biography of John Maynard Keynes (1983, 1992, 2000) received numerous prizes, including the Lionel Gelber Prize for International Relations and the Council on Foreign Relations Prize for International Relations. He was made a life peer in 1991, and a Fellow of the British Academy in 1994.

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

Praise for Robert Skidelsky—- A truly innovative and radical perspective … thought-stirring and extremely refreshing—John Gray, Guardian Arresting insights, written – despite its complex and heavyweight subject matter – with a captivating lightness of touch—Dominic Lawson, The Sunday Times Crisp and pungent … deeply provocative and intellectually suggestive—Rowan Williams, Prospect Skidelsky is a major figure in the revival of Keynesian thought—Martin Wolf, Financial Times