The real Luddites would have loved AI

The real Luddites would have loved AI

From Disrupting Japan by Tim Romero

April 27, 2026 · 33 min · Episode 251

About this episode

This episode discusses the misconceptions about Luddites and their potential views on AI and technology.

Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan’s most innovative founders and VCs. This is our 250th episode, and I wanted to give you something special; something I have been thinking about more and more as my career in startups and venture capital has developed. Leave a comment Today we are going to talk about a group of people who are perhaps the most reviled and maligned by technologists and innovators worldwide. People who stand in opposition to everything innovators hold dear. Today we are going to talk about the Luddites — those individuals who through a combination of ignorance and shortsightedness opposed technology and change. But that’s not really true. The Luddites were not who you think they were. In fact, almost everything you have ever been told about them is wrong. In truth, the Luddites were not really opposed to new technology. Not even when it threatened their livelihoods. There is growing concern today about AI taking our jobs, but if AI had emerged 220 years ago, the Luddites would have embraced it. Far more important, they would have held a much better understanding of the true dangers posed by today's new business models than do most of the AI…

People in this episode

Host: Tim Romero

Topics covered

  • Luddites
  • AI
  • technology
  • innovation
  • job displacement
  • business models

Keywords

  • Luddites
  • AI
  • technology
  • innovation
  • job displacement
  • business models
  • history

Mentioned in this episode

Products: AI

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