ChatGPT and similar AIs have swept across the world like a tsunami. The wave quickly reached the shores and inland areas of education. When searching for what this means, one way is to find an analogy in the past and learn from it. This quickly brings us to the invention of printing around 1450. After a brief outline of some of its consequences, we will look at what this might mean for generative artificial intelligence (AI).
By Piet Murre, PhD, MSc
The art of printing
The number of books multiplied enormously after 1450. Until the invention of printing, books were extremely expensive (both because of the time-consuming craftsmanship involved and the expensive animal skins required) and were therefore scarce. Estimates vary, but the amount of information available increased by thousands of percent in the first 50 to 150 years after the invention.
Libraries in monasteries and universities grew from a few hundred books to many thousands. Books were now placed upright on shelves instead of on lecterns. The monopoly on information gradually disappeared, although in the early 1600s it was still forbidden for students in Cambridge to simply walk into a library.
Until 1450, most books were written in only a few languages (mainly Latin). When publishers started printing books in local languages, they had to choose which of the dialects to use. They opted for a variant that offered the best chance of sufficient sales. This promoted the emergence of a standardised language, at the expense of the other dialects. At the same time (and also for other reasons), the dominance of Latin as the language of scholars gradually declined.
Until the advent of printing, lessons usually involved the thorough study of a single text, or part of a text. Printed books made it possible and relatively easy to compare different texts on a single subject. This contributed to the emergence of a different form of critical and analytical thinking.
Because books were much cheaper than before, it was also worthwhile to print books for a curriculum with a gradually increasing level of difficulty. A study course became more sequential than had previously been the case.
Artificial intelligence
Despite its enormous lack of nuance, this sketch can clarify a few things for us.
There are interesting parallels between the invention of printing and the widespread introduction of generative forms of artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT), or more broadly, the digital revolution. The amount of information available is growing exponentially, as is its malleability.
As the amount of information increases, so does manipulating it and converting it into disinformation. The influence of individuals is minimal after launching content in the digital universe. There is, of course, an immediate impact, but some major and more indirect consequences only become apparent over time.
Monopolies on information ownership are disappearing, or in other words, access is becoming democratised; everyone can access everything, everywhere, at any time. At the same time, new groups are emerging (individuals, companies, organisations, etc.) that have a lot or very little influence and (soft forms of) power.
There are also differences. The pace now seems to be much faster than around 1450. The number of people who are quickly affected is much greater (also in percentage terms). The potential for abuse is much greater.
With ChatGPT and similar technologies, we are less receptive (as when reading books), but existing information is converted into new text (image, sound, whatever) in response to the questions we ask. In that sense, it is productive. This fits in with a long-standing trend in which individual consumers are also becoming producers of news, advertising, videos, and so on.
Devoting time
In short, there are important similarities between the art of printing and the advent of generative artificial intelligence, as well as important differences. What this means for education cannot be summed up in a single sentence. It is therefore worthwhile to devote more time to this topic as a team in a setting where there is sufficient time to do so.
For the outline of the consequences of the art of printing, I have greatly and gratefully drawn from Moodie, G. (2014). Gutenberg's effects on universities. History of education, 43(4), 450-467.
An earlier version of this blog was published in Dutch in December 2023.
