EPISODE 38 | Why has technological progress slowed, even as AI promises to transform our world?
In this episode of the New Enlightenment Podcast from Adam Smith’s Panmure House, host Adam Dixon sits down with Professor Carl Benedikt Frey—Oxford economist and author of How Progress Ends—to explore one of the most pressing questions of our time: why are new technologies no longer delivering the economic and societal gains they once did?
Together, they examine:
🔸 The paradox of innovation without growth
🔸 The geopolitical race between the US and China
🔸The hidden bottlenecks in scientific discovery
🔸 The ways AI may both accelerate and undermine learning
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction: The Paradox of Progress
02:36 – Defining Progress vs. Improvement
05:45 – Technology, Well-Being, and Growth
08:45 – AI’s Promise and Its Limits
11:40 – Antimicrobial Resistance and Innovation Challenges
14:18 – Bottlenecks in Scientific Discovery
17:26 – AI, Learning, and Human Potential
21:47 – Lessons from Historical Innovation Races
24:17 – Could AI Slow Innovation?
28:46 – Incentives and the Architecture of Progress
34:28 – Work, Identity, and Human Worth
36:25 – Geoeconomics and the Battle for Tech Dominance
46:56 – Market Dynamism vs. State Capitalism
Drawing on history, economics, and cutting-edge research, Frey argues that progress is never inevitable—it depends on the right institutions, incentives, and market dynamism.
If you care about the future of productivity, prosperity, and human flourishing in the age of AI, you're going to want to listen to this episode.
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Professor Carl Benedikt Frey
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Professor Adam Dixon
