For centuries, technology has shaped human knowledge, from ancient times when people wrote on clay tablets to today when they use digital tablets. Now, however, we stand on the verge of another revolution, which, in its own right, is as significant as the printing press or the dawn of the internet: the age of generative artificial intelligence (AI). With the ability to compile and summarize information from across the internet within seconds, AI is set to transform everything from education to business. However, the implications for how we understand knowledge AI holds tremendous power.
A Look Back: The Printing Press and the Democratization of Knowledge
Looking into the impact of generative AI, it is wise to look back and consider the revolutionary change left by the printing press as a form of eradicating information inequality. Although humans possessed knowledge in forms that date back tens of thousands of years even before the invention of the printing press, such as a very advanced scribal culture in ancient civilizations, the accessible movement of types made book production cheaper and less labor-intensive. From this point onwards, information could be easily attained, which led to the invention of the printing press in around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg. The circulating of knowledge soared, which brought along immense social transformations such as the European Renaissance, along with the growth of the middle class.
The Age of Technology: The Internet’s Many-to-Many Communication
Similar to the introduction of any other technological tools, the computer and later the internet brought about a new era of knowledge revolution. Communication surged to a completely different level when people started using the internet to connect with each other, share their views, and learn. Online communication started with USENET bulletin boards, where endless amounts of information could be stored. The very first stage of the internet can be considered as a stage where there was global freedom to access and gather information, like a boundless library.
The Promise of Generative AI: Personal Librarian
All-encompassing ChatGPT, Dall-E, and DeepSeek—generative AI deep learning models—offer a paradigm shift. We are promised an automated personal librarian, and so, searching for information and even opening a book are no longer needed. As highlighted, physical libraries have been obsolete for a while now, and with the advent of scrolling generative AI, libraries, even digital ones, may become completely unnecessary. Human language allows AI to train on massive datasets, where it learns how to condense and synthesize information from different authors, subjects, and even time periods. It is now possible to pose virtually any question to AI assistants and, more often than not, a relevant and coherent answer will be provided. With all its capabilities, generative AI has the unique edge of adapting content to the user’s needs and personalizing tones and language to fit preferences.
A New Phase: An Attack on the Idea of Knowledge
While this technology can be incredibly beneficial, it also poses unique challenges. With the advent of AI, the link between knowledge and technology undergoes a transformation, and our very comprehension of knowledge comes into question. Who created it? Who owns it? Can we trust the information? Also, there is a threat of reversing the democratizing impact of the printing press and the internet.
The Dangers of AI: The Shift From Many Voices to a Single Source
“One-to-many” communication was made possible by the printing press, and the internet influenced “many-to-many” communication. Generative AI poses a threat by removing the rich tapestry of human knowledge and replacing it with a singular identity, making it “one.” The issue at hand is whether humanity’s enriched understanding crafted by perspective and critical thought will be erased by AI’s generative processes.
Harnessing AI Technology: The Use of Critical Thinking
The generative AI technology we choose to work with will triumphantly influence our approach to AI-assisted knowledge. Breaking down problems, questioning knowledge, and debating them is the fuel of construction in our society. While some scholars prattle on about AI’s capabilities of aiding creativity, others are quick to argue its use will lead to a degeneration of the collective intellect. Critical thinking, a central aspect of education, has become a concern within an AI-driven society.
Red Flags of Machine Intelligence: Socrates on Self-Destruction
The loss of critical thinking in this over-dependent society of AI echoes, about 2500 years ago, the fears Greek philosopher Socrates raised. Studies conducted on “digital amnesia’ reveal we are mentally storing less in our minds due to the reliance on digital devices. Generative AI’s capabilities of turning us into ‘information rich but thinking poor’ mentally put us at the bleak prospect of Socrates’s proverbial wisdom. In this malleable age, the most profound axioms to live righteously and surely are “We warrant extricating ourselves out of bereft perpetual uncertainty.”
