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We are at risk of building an economy that is perpetually unfair for much of humanity

The spectacle of human achievement crushed into a tiny device, possessed of its own intelligence, resonates with something we are all experiencing—a sense that as we augment humanity, we may, at the same time, have come to marginalize actual humans.

Tim Wu says his book is important because 'Now is the time to re-evaluate and, most optimistically, try to get back to the idea that the technologies in our lives catalyze and spread the wealth, as opposed to concentrate it.'Book cover courtesy of Alfred A. Knopf and author photograph courtesy Michael Lionstar

Feature

BY TIM WU

May 11, 2026

The following is an excerpt from Tim Wu's book, The Age of Extraction: How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Prosperity, nominated for the prestigious 2025 Donner Prize for the best public policy book of the year. ...

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