"In How Progress Ends, Carl Benedikt Frey offers a detailed and compelling account of how entrepreneurial, institutional and cultural forces have shaped periods of technological advance and stagnation across the world. In doing so, Frey, an economist and economic historian, draws timely lessons for today’s policymakers as the race for supremacy in artificial intelligence and green technology continues. . . . The present moment underscores the relevance of Frey’s writing. Business dynamism appears to be fading across much of the advanced world. . . . How Progress Ends is, therefore, an essential warning for the new era."—Tej Parikh, Financial Times
"Compelling. . . . A thoughtful, deeply informed study, How Progress Ends is both a historical journey and a warning. It challenges readers to recognize that progress is not self-sustaining and that the choices we make now will determine whether innovation continues or quietly fades away."—Margaret Linak, Science
"[Frey's] broad yet deep survey of technology ranges across many nations and centuries, and pokes insightfully into myriad subjects, from Carolingian feudalism to patent law. The result is an incisive and stimulating consideration of a critical issue."—Publishers Weekly
"A fascinating quasi-historical economic examination of why somesocieties flourish and others flounder amidst innovation."—Library Journal
"It is tempting to assume that progress will always continue. How Progress Ends offers a sobering lesson: great leaps forward often grind to a halt when institutions fail to adapt."—Bernard Marr, Forbes
"In How Progress Ends, Frey investigates the historical relationship between social structure and economic growth. His sweep is wide, stretching from the Western Zhou dynasty . . . to the European Union today. Both free marketeers and die-hard central planners may find that his conclusions challenge their view of the world. . . . [His] historical analysis has more than a little relevance to today."—Marc Levinson, Wall Street Journal
"Progress is fragile. According to Carl Benedikt Frey, it requires a delicate sequence of innovation and efficient application. This explains why the world is now threatened by low growth. Vested interests dampen the US’s ability to leverage its decentralised economy for innovation, while greater centralisation in China puts their dynamism at risk. . . . Explaining something as complex as the success of economies through the neat lens of institutional and technological structure is a tall order. Frey does so with rigour."—Phil Bell, LSE Review of Books
“In How Progress Ends, Carl Benedikt Frey gives a bold answer to one of history’s—and humanity’s—most essential questions: what drives technology and innovation? Epic in scope but packed with rigorous detail, it looks at what creates and reverses societal gains, asks how we should best manage the pursuit of new technologies, and hints at what, in the midst of an AI revolution, happens next. One of the key thinkers in the field, Frey delivers a grand, urgent must-read for anyone who cares about our past, present, and future.”—Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI
“Debates about AI fluctuate between hopes that it will bring us boundless capabilities and riches and fears that it will reduce us to servitude or worse. But in How Progress Ends, Carl Benedikt Frey shows that the real question is how human creativity and innovation will adapt to the age of powerful AI. I can’t imagine a better place to find answers than this far-ranging, intelligent book, which reminds us that human institutions and culture have always been critical to innovation and progress.”—Daron Acemoglu, Nobel Prize–winning economist and coauthor of Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity
“Frey masterfully reveals why some nations thrive while others stumble in periods of technological upheaval. At a time when AI reshapes our world, this book offers vital lessons for political leaders seeking to harness innovation while avoiding the institutional traps that have derailed progress throughout history.”—Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute and former Prime Minister of Britain and Northern Ireland
"How Progress Ends is a deeply researched effort to come to grips with one of the most interesting questions in economic history: what drove innovation and economic growth in the past, and can it be sustained? In the best traditions of giants such as Joseph Schumpeter and Mancur Olson, Frey provides a thoughtful and erudite analysis that nobody interested in these questions can ignore."—Joel Mokyr, author of A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy
“Progress is often thought of as a succession of technologies, but major new inventions from the steam engine to generative AI disrupt societies before they deliver improved living standards. How Progress Ends is a fascinating account of the way culture and institutions interact with new technologies, concluding that conditions in the United States and China today point to a future of stagnation despite their dominance at the AI frontier.”—Diane Coyle, author of The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters
“Why do some eras and countries experience rapid technological advances while others stagnate? In How Progress Ends, Carl Benedikt Frey draws on examples as diverse as Tsarist Russia, Mao’s China, and America’s AI boom to show how economic institutions promote or prevent technological progress, and how vested interests and monopolies mobilize to block change. Essential reading for anyone looking to understand the drivers of technological progress.”—Chris Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology
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