Then, as now, the titans used technology both as a new mode of production and as an idea that allowed them to ignore long$-$standing laws and regulations. Then, as now, leaders dazzled by unregulated technologies ignored their potential downsides. Then, it might have been state$-$of$-$the$-$art water frames that could produce an incredible volume of yarn $-$ but needed hundreds of vulnerable child laborers to operate. Today, it's a cellphone or a same$-$day delivery, made possible by thousands of human laborers toiling in often punishing conditions. Then, as now, workers and critics sounded the alarm. In the $1810$s$,$ no one in power listened. A fierce, popular rebellion broke out. Scores of Luddites were killed and hanged. The factory system took root and brought prosperity for some, but it created an immiserated working class. The $200$ years since have seen breathtaking technological innovation $-$ but much less social innovation in how the benefits are shared. That's why, in the age of Al and augmented reality, electric vehicles and Mars rovers, levels of inequality again rival the days of the Industrial Revolution. Resistance is gathering again, too. Amazon workers are joining union drives despite intense opposition. Actors and screenwriters are striking and artists and illustrators have called for a ban of generative Al in editorial outlets. Organizing, illegal in the Luddites' time, has historically proved the best bulwark against automation. But governments must also step up$.$ They must offer robust protections and social services for those in precarious positions. They must enforce antitrust laws. Crucially, they must develop regulations to rein in the antidemocratic model of technological development wherein a handful of billionaires and venture capital firms determine the shape of the future. The clothworkers of the $1800$s had the right idea: They believed everyone should share in the bounty of the amazing technologies their work makes possible. That's why I$\text{'}$m a Luddite and why you should be one, too. $1.$ Summarize this text