Titans, Swarms, or Human Renaissance? Technological Revolutions and Policy Lessons for the AI Age

Will transformative AI bring prosperity or disorder? This essay presents a new typology of past technological revolutions—from the Industrial Revolution to the information age—defined by their impact on market structure and labor. Applying this framework to the AI era, the author analyzes four potential futures (Titan’s Dominion, Copilot Empire, Disruption Swarm, and Promethean Fire) and identifies five priorities for steering outcomes toward broad-based prosperity through policies spanning tax, innovation, competition, AI governance, and infrastructure.