Science and technology have become less disruptive in recent decades. Does that mean progress is slowing down?

  While the past century witnessed an unprecedented expansion in scientific and technological knowledge, there are growing concerns about a possible slowing of innovative activity [Jones, 2009, Gordon, 2016, Cowen and Southwood, 2019, Bhattacharya and Packalen, 2020]. Studies have documented declining research productivity in semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and other fields [Pammolli et al., 2011, Bloom et al., 2020].