Harnessing Disruption

Abstract

Why do societies often stumble when confronted with breakthrough technologies? Nuclear weapons were developed before governments had even begun to imagine how to control them. Social media spread globally long before anyone grasped its impact on democracy. Cryptocurrency created new avenues of financial freedom but also new risks for illicit finance. And today, artificial intelligence is advancing faster than the institutions meant to guide it. Again and again, disruptive technologies appear first, while rules and norms lag behind. Harnessing Disruption asks why this pattern keeps repeating and what can be done about it. Drawing on history and original research, Sarah Kreps shows that disruption is not random but follows a recognizable cycle. Technologies emerge, warnings surface, crises hit, agendas form, and responses eventually take shape. Sometimes these responses are successful, as with nuclear arms control. Other times, as with social media, they come too late or fail altogether. Kreps argues that the key is not to eliminate disruption but to understand it. By recognizing where we are in the cycle, policymakers and citizens alike can anticipate risks, identify openings for action, and shape outcomes before damage is irreversible. Spanning case studies from the atomic age to the AI race, the book provides both diagnosis and prescription: disruption will always accompany innovation, but with foresight and institution-building, societies can manage the turbulence without abandoning the benefits of technological progress.