Reviews

Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment by Martin Ford

matty_barone's review against another edition

4.0

This was very interesting. A little outdated but I would love to see Martin Ford's updated version. I couldn't believe how eye-opening and insightful it was.

gustavovalencia's review against another edition

4.0

I liked it. Probably coming late to this book and it’s easy to criticise in hindsight. However , I didn’t like the scaremongering tone of the book. I did like that although some of the proposed paths may not be easily accepted by the current political environment, the author reflects on policy that could actually work.

katkeigher's review against another edition

3.0

Ford’s voice makes the abstract ideas he tackles both approachable and interesting. His candor and humor weave seamlessly with the hard data and scientific research he references. While with another author this might limit his ethos, with Ford it does just the opposite. His colloquial tone conveys a sense of confidence and gravitas that gives his reader no option but to believe him. Though much of his subject matter is undeniably bleak, Ford gives readers information like a tool for their tool kit.
Ford’s ability to connect with readers is undeniable. Consider his reference to the 2013 film Elysium--pop culture references are another one of the reasons why Ford’s narrative is so engaging--where Ford warns of the dangers of a potential global economic collapse (pp. 220-221, 2016). His ability to take something so distant and bring it into an understandable context is one of the reasons why Ford has become one of the most well-known and well-respected futurists. He can, simply, explain the future in the language of today. Even a layman like me was able to follow and engage with concepts well beyond my expertise.
If Ford’s goal was to simultaneously warn, educate, and entertain his reader then Rise of the Robots is a resounding success. He achieves a gentle balance of information and entertainment without losing any of his authority in the process. It’s no wonder that economist Lord Robert Skildesky of the University of Warwick said, “This is a book that everyone concerned with the future of the world must read” (as cited in Ford, 2016).

tobinsouth's review against another edition

2.0

An interesting read in a post COVID-19 world.

This book is even more salient in present day from the rapid (forced) digitization of work and its impact on the automatability of higher education, healthcare and retail - among others.

The book gets a bit transcendental towards the end but Ford mostly stay's grounded with an interested eye to the semi-near future.

ajdavis29's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

dellaposta's review against another edition

4.0

Ford's book provides an accessible but comprehensive tour of the current and future state of technology and automation in the economy. I learned quite a bit about a topic that is likely to be one of the great political and social challenges of coming decades. His broad argument is that exponentially advancing information technology will lead to future job losses that cut - unlike most economic disruptions - across a stunningly wide array of industries and skill levels, implying a fundamental shift in economic and social organization. He illustrates this argument throughout the book with interesting examples from industries ranging from manufacturing to health care and higher education. While Ford has no easy solution for this bleak diagnosis, he does convincingly argue for a guaranteed minimum income as part of a broader paradigm shift to address a fundamentally changed (and increasingly labor-less) economy.

aaron_anderson's review against another edition

4.0

While there is nothing new here in terms of economics, Ford makes a lucid argument using current trends in technology, automation, and labor organization. Automation can be either a serious threat or a great benefit to all, it will require action to ensure the majority of us do not become superfluous.

yates9's review against another edition

4.0

Good balanced journalism, perhaps confusing on balance between realistic policy and futurologist perspectives. Overall this is a great entry book to the complicated narrative of automation, and its social impact. The book is also often drifting between global perspectives and US focused problems and solutions, which makes it more difficult to bridge ideas and the scale at which they work or might work.

nadjamonet's review against another edition

informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

hoboken's review against another edition

5.0

Fascinating, important, a nonfiction page turner. Ford explains complicated things clearly and with sophistication. Has an especially impressive grasp on what you might call economography (maybe there's an actual word for this), the ways in which economists have dealt with developments in their own field. In the 50's this book would have had caused the kind of national conversation The Lonely Crowd and the The Status Seekers did. Now nobody reads except us GRers. Still the machines are coming for us--self-driving cars and 3D printing are already here, and millions of jobs are about to be wiped out. Are we going to be ready?