Carl Benedikt Frey talks to Toby Lichtig

Humans have advanced incredibly over the past 1,000 years – but will it continue? Come on a sweeping journey through the history — and future — of progress, from early dynastic China to Deep Seek, as Carl Frey offers a fascinating explanation of why some societies flourish and others fail in the wake of rapid technological change. The Oxford economic historian and author of The Technology Trap shows how technological shifts have shaped, and sometimes destabilised, entire civilisations – challenging the conventional belief that progress is inevitable.

Perhaps we can't depend on any AI-fuelled great leap forward? Frey’s message is simple: progress is possible but never guaranteed. He talks to the Times Literary Supplement’s politics and fiction editor Toby Lichtig.