Technological evolution doesn’t bring only benefits

Jorge Costa Oliveira

When discussing the enormous potential arising from today’s technological advances – especially artificial intelligence (AI) – it’s common to draw comparisons with earlier moments in history when transformative innovations reshaped our societies. Among the usual examples are the [re-]invention of the movable-type printing press in the West by Gutenberg and the Industrial Revolution.

The [re-]invention of the movable-type press, in 1450, in the West (the original “block printing” having been invented earlier in China during the Song dynasty) and its gradual popularization allowed the preservation of important texts and the mass production of books. This made them more accessible and affordable, facilitating the spread of knowledge – contributing to both the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation – and the circulation of ideas throughout Europe.

Among the printed works were the Bible, classical authors such as Aristotle, Plato, and Cicero, Luther’s “95 Theses,” medical and scientific treatises like “De Humani Corporis Fabrica” by Andreas Vesalius, and, perhaps most importantly, vernacular literary masterpieces such as Boccaccio’s “Decameron” and Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy”.

A significant publishing success – with 30 printed editions between the 15th and 17th centuries – was the Malleus Maleficarum (“The Hammer of Witches” in English) by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, published in 1487 in the German city of Speyer. This inquisitorial manual described the nature of “demons” and their connection with witchcraft, offered guidance on handling such entities, prescribed trial procedures – complete with a wide range of tortures – and outlined how to execute sentences, including the many ways to kill “witches.” Without the ease of printing and the widespread distribution of this malignant work, tens of thousands of poor and marginalized women might have been spared vile persecution, torture, and death.

As for the Industrial Revolution, despite its evident long-term benefits when viewed 250 years later, it’s clear that in the 19th century the technological transformation it unleashed also brought severe negative social consequences:

1. deep social inequality;
2. harsh working conditions (long hours, low wages, lack of safety and hygiene);
3. child labor exploitation;
4. chaotic urbanization;
5. environmental pollution;
6. unemployment and economic instability caused by automation and mechanization;
7. widespread disease linked to poor living and working conditions.

In times of grave anxiety and uncertainty about the near future, societies tend to create symbolic enemies to cope with their fears and new divinities to solve the masses’ anguish. Furthermore, technological evolution often becomes a catalyst for some of humanity’s worst instincts, triggering collective reactions that stem from the darker side of human nature.

We are in the early stages of the AI revolution, and already amoeba-like AIs – such as social media algorithms programmed to promote customer engagement – cause significant harm by riding on fear, hatred, and intolerance. There are mega-companies investing billions in an accelerated technological evolution towards superintelligent AIs, which sell us splendid tomorrows and unimaginable progress.

The potential negative effects of this AI revolution are hardly discussed, against a historical backdrop in which the main sources of information – social networks – are controlled by these mega-companies. Yet, it is very important, and urgent, to have this discussion.

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