Week 5: General Purpose Technologies: Steam and ICT Flashcards
Difference between invention and innovation?
Invention: a new discovery
Innovation: commercial application of an invention
Diffusion?
widespread use of invention
Imitation?
copying
What did the printing press enable?
-as it diffused from Europe across Mainz
-made books more affordable, increased book production
-associated with faster city population growth where it was adopted (Dittmar)
-led to an ‘IT revolution’
What was Hobsbawm’s perspective on why the I.R started?
-cotton industry
-Increase in cotton prod from Spinning jenny and Water power
-steam engines too late to effect industrial revolution (was initially used to pump ores out of mines)
What are GPT’s?
-a technology that has:
scope for improvement
widely used
many uses
many complementarities
Examples of GPTS?
- Electricity
-Computing and communications (ICT) - Factory System
-interchangeable parts
-modern management
-Assembly line production
What is Solow’s paradox
-slowdown in productivity growth in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s despite rapid development in I.T
How does GPT effect productivity?
-initial impact is minimal
-the realisation of its eventual potential may take several
decades
Why does steam contribute so little to growth?
-overall productivity growth was slow during IR (Craft)
-Steam power accounted for small % of capital stock
-not fundamental to growth, consequence of growth not cause
How has computing improved growth?
-Computing power has improved in the last 15 years, as prices per unit computing power are going down
-Which has increased productivity and contribute more to GDP growth (Crafts)
Why is growth from computing really grew in the late 20th century?
-greater % of capital stock
Compared to computing how does Steam contribute to GDP growth and what conclusion do we get?
- much lower
-we are getting faster at exploiting GPT
Can we use history of how we are getting better at exploiting GPT’s for A.I?
Yes we are getting better at exploiting them
What is AGI?
- Artificial General Intelligence
-Human level
What is ASI?
-Artificial Super Intelligence
What is different with AI as a GPT?
-AI is presented as a modern GPT with transformative potential.
- It could lead to economic changes similar to those seen with past GPTs,
-AI reaching a point of “artificial superintelligence” (ASI), where its capabilities far exceed human intelligence
What causes technological progress?
-endogenous to the economic system itself
-Inventions and innovations arise in response to economic needs and conditions, creating cycles of progress.
What is significant about the Industrial Revolution?
- a widespread change in behaviour
-watch prices capture productivity increase (outside of cotton, steal and steam)
What does Crafts say about steam?
-The relatively weak initial impact of steam as a GPT helps explain the modest rate of productivity growth during the British Industrial Revolution
-the shift to high pressure steam, significantly reducing coal consumption
How did high pressure steam come about?
-required advancements in boiler design and manufacturing
What does crafts say about how steam use was improved?
-resulted from a series of technological advancements
-shift to high-pressure steam, improvements in engine and boiler design
- integration of steam technology into various sectors like transportation and manufacturing
