Where would we be without knowledge? Everything, from the construction of spaceships to the development of new therapies, occurred by the creation, sharing and validation of knowledge. It is undoubtedly our most precious human goods.
From clay tablets to electronic tablets, technology has played an influential role in the training of human knowledge. Today we hold On the brink of the next knowledge revolution. It is as great as – if not more – the invention of the printing house or the finish of the digital age.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a new revolutionary technology capable of collecting and summarizing knowledge from the Internet by clicking on a button. Its impact is already felt from the class At meeting roomTHE laboratory At tropical forest.
Looking back to wait, what do we expect to make the generator doing our knowledge practices? And can we predict how it can change human knowledge, for better or for worse?
The power of the printing
While Printing technology has had an enormous immediate impactWe always take the full scale of its effects on society. This impact was largely due to its ability to disseminate knowledge to millions of people.
Of course, human knowledge existed before printing. The forms of unwritten knowledge date back tens of thousands of years, and the researchers today demonstrate the Advanced skills associated with verbal knowledge.
In turn, scribal culture played an integral role in ancient civilizations. Serving as a way to preserve legal codes, religious doctrines or literary texts, scribes were powerful people who exchanged handwritten products for kings and nobles.
But it was the print press – in particular the mobile -type use process allowing a much cheaper and less labor production of books – this democratized knowledge. This technology was invented in Germany around 1440 by Goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg. Often described As a word of technology, the print technology, printing technology has been able to provide affordable information to whole populations.
This exponential increase in the dissemination of knowledge has been associated with Huge societal changesFrom the European Renaissance to the Advance of the middle classes.
Daniel Chodowiecki / Wikipedia
The revolutionary potential of the digital era
The invention of the computer – and more importantly the connection of several computers around the world via the Internet – has seen the arrival of another knowledge revolution.
Often described As a new reality to talk about several to several, the Internet has provided a way for people to communicate, share ideas and learn.
At the start of the internet, Boards Usenet Bulletin were digital discussion salons which allowed an exchange of information without interruption without intermediary.
As Internet users increased, the need for regulation and content moderation has also increased. However, the role of the Internet as the largest library access to access to the world has remained.
Masini / Shutterstock
The promise of a generative AI
The generative AI refers to deep learning models capable of generating human outings, including text, images, videos and audio. Examples include Chatgpt, Dall-E and Deepseek.
Today, this new technology promises to function as our personal librarian, reducing our need to seek a book, not to mention opening its coverage. Visiting physical libraries for information was not necessary for a while, but a generative AI means that we no longer need to scroll the lists of electronic sources.
Trained Hundreds of billions of human wordsThe AI can condense and synthesize large amounts of information, through a variety of authors, subjects or periods. A user can ask any question to his AI assistant and, for the most part, will receive a competent answer. Generative AI can sometimes, however, “hallucinate”, which means that it will provide unreliable Or FAKE Information, instead of admitting that she does not know the answer.
The generative AI can also personalize its outputs, providing rendering in the necessary language and tone. Combined as the ultimate democratic of knowledge, the adaptation of information to respond to the interests, the pace, the capacities and the style of a person is extraordinary.
But, as an increasingly widespread arrest of our information needs, AI marks a new phase in the history of the relationship between knowledge and technology.
He calls into question the very concept of human knowledge: his fatherhood, his property and his veracity. He also risks renouncing the a little-might revolution who was the printing and potential of many to many which is the Internet. In doing so, does the generation of the generator inadvertently reduce the voices of many to the banality of one?
Ascannio / Shutterstock
Wisely generative use
Most knowledge is born the debate, the affirmations and the challenge. It is based on diligence, reflexivity and application. The question of whether the generative promotes these qualities is open, and the evidence has so far been mixed.
Some studies show it Improves creative thoughtBut others not. However, others show That even if it could help individuals, it ultimately decreases our collective potential. Most educators fear that it will be reduce critical thinking.
More generally, research on “digital amnesia“Tell us that we are storing less information in our heads today than before because of our growing dependence on digital devices. And, with people and organizations are now Increasingly dependent on digital technology.
Using history as inspiration, over 2500 years ago the Greek philosopher Socrates said This real wisdom is when we know nothing.
If a genetive Risks make us rich information but poor thought (or individually well informed but collectively ignorant), these words could be the only knowledge we need at the moment.