The rise of AI is often described as a new industrial revolution after the radical economic transformation brought about by the era of mechanized manufacturing, mass production and the digital age. Therefore, AI leaders should carefully study history to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Smith stressed the importance of fair access to emerging technologies. He noted that global electricity inequality spreads after Thomas Edison invented the light bulb (the fundamental moment of the Second Industrial Revolution). “How did we move from electricity to computers, now AI, and we haven’t even finished the electricity itself yet?” he asked, noting that nearly 150 years later, hundreds of millions of people still have no access to electricity.
Smith urged the AI industry to call the gap possible “the biggest tragedy” in technology history to ensure its benefits are distributed more widely. “We can do better not only to create better technology, but also to bring the benefits of that technology to everyone around the world,” he said.
He believes that widespread adoption of AI adoption depends on a large investment in infrastructure, an area where Microsoft innovation is. The company plans to invest $80 billion in AI and data center infrastructure in 40 countries this year. This infrastructure, together with platforms and applications, forms what Smith calls the “technology stack” of the AI economy.
The industrial revolutions of the past also established such a technology stack. Smith said the spread of electricity, such as stimulating demand for fuels, turbines, grids, transformers, wiring and appliances, has created new employment categories.
He also highlighted the key role of education in unlocking job growth. During the First Industrial Revolution, Britain led the way by training workers to use iron and new machinery. Later, the United States gained further benefits by cultivating skilled power and machine tool engineers and receiving computer science education in the information age. Smith said the examples highlight why teaching AI skills “will need to be one of the biggest reasons why” we have in our industry.
Ultimately, Smith believes that investment in education – just optimistic is what determines whether AI increases labor or replaces labor. “Hope itself is not a strategy,” he said. “I think history provides some important lessons.”
