We Need A New World’s Fair To Show Us The Benefits Of An Abundance Agenda

Innovation is the key to progress, economic growth, and better living standards. Unfortunately, many people today worry that innovation in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, nuclear energy, and other areas will do more harm than good. This is a problem, since a citizenry that is overwhelmingly skeptical of new technology makes it harder to convince policymakers to take the hands-off regulatory approach needed to bring it to fruition. People often fear what they do not understand, so optimists must show them, up close and personal, the wonders of innovation and how new technology will help everyone live longer, more fulfilling lives. A new world’s fair would show us what is possible if we embrace the idea of abundance rather than self-imposed scarcity.

In the past, a world’s fair was a huge event that was a combination carnival, science exposition, concert, lecture series, and consumer products show. In an essay, Cameron Wiese of The World’s Fair Company—an organization committed to putting on a new World’s Fair—reminds us of their wonder:

“For months, you’ve watched as cranes and trucks transformed Flushing Meadows into the world of tomorrow. Now, flicking your ticket with impatient fingers, you step through the turnstiles of the New York World’s Fair. You stand awestruck by the Unisphere and the epic NASA rockets, the Beatles’ “Help!” plays live in the distance, and the scent of freshly griddled Belgian Waffles ignites your appetite.

Later, you wait in line with your friends for Disney’s latest attraction, debating the exciting futures put forth by GM, Ford, and RCA. After a full day of shows, pavilions, and exhibits, you grab dinner in the Bavarian Village before riding the space elevator up the Observation Tower to take in the evening’s fireworks.”

Once upon a time, world’s fairs were regular events held to introduce new innovations to consumers and inspire people about the future. From 1851 through 1934 there were 14 world’s fairs largely focused on new technology held in cities across the world including London, New York, Barcelona, Paris, Prague, St. Louis, Chicago, and San Francisco.

And they were hugely popular: The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, which celebrated the 400-year anniversary of Columbus landing in the Americas, had 27.5 million attendees over its six-month run, or about 40% of the entire U.S. population. Notable guests included Helen Keller, Alexander Graham Bell, and Indian philosopher and Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda.

The 1960s world’s fairs in New York and Montreal each drew more than 50 million attendees. The 1967 Montreal fair, known as Expo 67, even inspired the name for the city’s future Major League Baseball team, the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals).

Now, it is time to do it again. Scholars and pundits alike worry that America’s dynamism is fading. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic wrote that America is running on fumes, and there is ample evidence to support him. Growth in total factor productivity (TFP)—or our ability to produce more stuff with less resources—has slowed since the late 1970s. The long-term decline in TFP is associated with a similar decline in economic growth, as shown in the figure below from a NBER working paper by Kevin A. Bryan and Heidi L. Williams.

Innovation has always spooked people despite being the key to growth and prosperity. The fear of the unknown is powerful. Even the now-ubiquitous bicycle was blamed for devastating local economies and destroying female morality. So, while it is probably not true that people are more fearful of innovation than in the past, things do not seem much better either.

A 2018 survey by Pew revealed that 72% of U.S. adults were worried about a future where robots and computers do many jobs humans do now, while only 33% were enthusiastic. Autonomous vehicles (AVs), synthetic blood that enhances physical abilities, and algorithms that help employers identify talent induced similar anxiety.

Meanwhile, so-called “Big Tech” companies—Amazon
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, Facebook, Apple
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, Google, Microsoft
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—are viewed with suspicion and often outright animosity despite being the source of countless new products and services from the iPhone to affordable two-day delivery. In a recent survey, 86% of Americans said they do not trust these companies. Politicians on both sides of the aisle want to break them up.

If it is true that much of this animosity and fear is driven by a lack of familiarity, then a new world’s fair would be a remedy. Innovations that people only read or hear about would become salient and fear would be replaced with awe.

Attendees could explore the new world’s fair in AVs, take a ride on Elon Musk’s hyperloop, or sit on SpaceX’s Starship while a virtual reality headset makes it seem as if they are floating above the earth. People could see 3D-printed home company ICON
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build an entire house in a week. The adventurous among us could even take a ride in a flying car or use a jetpack to feel what it is like to be Iron Man.

Visitors could see artificial limbs people control with their minds and that even let them experience touch. Or witness how technology can help the blind to see via an implant in the visual cortex. They could also learn how the mRNA technology that gave us the Covid-19 vaccines may be able to cure cancer and other diseases.

There could be exhibits with real wooly mammoths or dodo birds, brought back to life by modern science. Other formerly extinct plans and animals could also be on display. People could eat lab-grown meat, vegetables and fruits grown in indoor vertical farms, and french fries prepared by a robot. All the food could be served by robots, too, which is already happening in some restaurants in Detroit, Dallas, and other cities. Robots already made and served cocktails and coffee at last year’s Beijing Olympics.

The whole fair could be powered by a geothermal plant that taps into the earth’s crust to generate electricity, or a small modular nuclear reactor. Both operate with no pollution or carbon emissions.

Pulling this off will take work, especially on the policy side. State and local governments impose far more rules and regulations than they did in the 1960s. Exhibit halls will need to be built and permits and inspections will almost assuredly be needed to allow flying cars, jetpacks, and new energy sources to operate. A policy champion who can streamline the permitting and inspection process and make sure all the Ts are crossed is crucial for pulling off a new world’s fair. It would behoove someone to do this, though, as hosting a new world’s fair would be a unique and prominent opportunity for a city to signal to the world that it wants to be the hub of innovation and progress in the 21^st century.

The aggregate data paint a bleak picture of innovation and growth, but there are also exciting new technologies all around us. A new world’s fair is just what we need to bring these new technologies to the forefront of everyone’s mind and reverse the stagnation that is creeping up on us. America has been the world’s innovation hub for more than a century, so who better to remind the world that innovation is noble and progress is good. Let’s get started.