Dr Berg argues that technical change was one of the foremost theoretical concerns of Ricardo and his successors, and the foundation for their distinctly optimistic view of the future. She shows how the Machinery Question fostered the social conditions in which the status of Political Economy as a discipline was established, and concludes that by the 1840s the divisions over machinery were firmly embedded in the great rival creeds of the future, liberalism and socialism.

It is hard to believe that the pursuit of artificial intelligence is not a phenomenon of the twentieth century. For over three hundred years, the boundaries between bodies and machines the natural and the artificial, the animate and the inanimate have been passionately explored. These explorations, beginning in the seventeenth and eighteenth and increasing during the nineteenth century, have been all but forgotten, lost beneath the commotion of the modern day world. This book retrieves these lost histories, giving voice to the hopes, dreams, and fears of philosophers, medical practitioners, engineers, craftsmen and artisans who have all been fascinated by the interface between bodies and machines. The journey back in time unfolds with the mysterious advent of mechanical philosophies, which conceptualized the body and the surrounding world largely in terms of mechanistic interactions. These theories develop in intriguing directions and fuel experiments in such areas as material production and social punishment, spiritualism and mental health. From reanimating dead bodies with electricity, which led to the introduction of the electric chair, through to the use of machines to render hysterics and the insane fit for reintroduction into society, this book conveys the dark truths behind our relationship with machines. This book is not only an exceptional contribution to the history of technology but also to contemporary debates about humans and machines.

A new reading of a crucial chapter in the history of social and political thought – the transition from the late Enlightenment to early liberalism.

The essays in this book explore the internal organisation of production before the development of the factory system.

An expert team of international authors present a diverse and comprehensive selection of theories and issues, carefully brought together by experienced editor John Ravenhill. Crucially, debates are presented through a critical lens to encourage students to unpack claims, form independent views, and challenge assumptions. This text is the only introduction to global political economy that lets students learn from the very top scholars in the field.Now in its sixth edition, this highly successful textbook has been thoroughly updated with contemporary real word examples, including the impact of the Trump administration, Brexit, and economic nationalism. Furthermore, new analysis has been added on the international political economy of work, labour, and energy. This ensures that Global Political Economy is the most up-to-date and relevant textbook on the subject available.KEY FEATURESA stimulating yet accessible guide to political economy which helps students understand complex issues such as global trade and global finance as well as pertinent topics including development, equality and the environmentPacked with contemporary case studies to help students apply economic theory to the real worldDebates are critically presented and situated in their historical context, enabling students to form their own views and argumentsIncludes carefully developed pedagogical features, such as rigorous end of chapter questions which help students reflect on their learning, test their knowledge, and form their own views.This title is available as an eBook. Please contact your Learning Resource Consultant for more information.

A social history of AI that finally reveals its roots in the spatial computation of industrial factories and the surveillance of collective behaviour. What is AI? A dominant view describes it as the quest "to solve intelligence," a solution supposedly to be found in the secret logic of the mind or in the deep physiology of the brain, such as in its complex neural networks. The Eye of the Master argues, to the contrary, that the inner code of AI is shaped not by the imitation of biological intelligence, but the intelligence of labour and social relations, as it is found in Babbage's "calculating engines" of the industrial age as well as in the recent algorithms for image recognition and surveillance. The idea that AI may one day become autonomous (or "sentient", as someone thought of Google's LaMDA) is pure fantasy. Computer algorithms have always imitated the form of social relations and the organisation of labour in their own inner structure and their purpose remains blind automation. The Eye of the Master urges a new literacy on AI for scientists, journalists and new generations of activists, who should recognise that the "mystery" of AI is just the automation of labour at the highest degree, not intelligence per se.