The Age of Extraction

Today’s dominant tech platforms manipulate attention, extract wealth and deepen inequality – we must take back control, if we are to create a balanced economy that works for everyone.

'Insightful' CORY DOCTOROW, author of Enshittification

'Essential reading' KAREN HAO, author of Age of Empire

'A passionate call for a fairer economy' DARON ACEMOGLU, co-author of Why Nations Fail

Our world is ruled by a handful of tech platforms. They provide great conveniences and entertainment but also stand as some of the most effective instruments of wealth extraction ever invented, seizing immense amounts of money, data and attention from all of us. An economy driven by tech and AI could enrich us, yet it could also marginalize entire industries, widen the wealth gap and foster a two-class nation. As technology evolves and our markets adapt, can society cultivate a better way? Is it possible to balance economic growth and egalitarianism, or are we too late?

Tim Wu, the preeminent scholar and former White House official who coined the phrase ‘net neutrality’, tells the story of an internet that promised widespread wealth and democracy, only to aid the spread of autocracy instead. From generative AI and predictive social data to antitrust and cryptocurrency, Wu frames our current moment within key lessons from recent history. And, perhaps most importantly of all, Wu envisions a future where technological advances serve the greatest possible good – for everyone.

Concise and hopeful, The Age of Extraction offers consequential proposals for reclaiming control to achieve better economic balance and prosperity for all.