Ban of the printing press led to the decline of the Ottoman Empire
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Obviously in western culture that evolved subsequent to the printing press easy publishing has become critical to how we live our modern lives and it's easy to draw a line connecting those dots, but it does not necessarily follow that the printing press either triggers or is a prerequisite for industrialization.
Even if the printing press was a major contributor to Europe's rise, that's not quite the same thing as the Ottoman's decline. Europe was eventually in a position to deal a deathblow but the Ottoman Empire had a lot of issues for a long time prior to its end (which coincided with several European empires as well). Perhaps the printing press could have helped some of these issues, but it's not at all clear it would have done more good than harm.
this seems like "too broad a brush" for a meaningful discussion
Ottomans wrote the whole playbook for Middle Eastern dictators: systematically favor the ethnoreligious groups you like, ensure that any big business opportunities are channeled through them, and then for disfavored ethnoreligious groups, suppress avenues to wealth which can be used against their rulers. Then, with the massive vacuum of intelligence left behind as a result of this policy, let fundamentalists misuse religion in such a way to keep your opponents simple and stupid (whereas during the Islamic Golden Age, scientists were inspired by Islam to make groundbreaking discoveries, and they in turn helped spark the Enlightenment in Europe).
Baghdad is smaller today than it was then. Just to show how much of an impact was felt.
They failed to adapt. They failed to recognize what made previous sultans so successful. Instead of innovating, they decided it would be better to keep the status quo. When they realized the need to modernize, it was already too late. They had already become the sick man of Europe.
One of the most significant examples of regulatory capture was the Locomotive Act of 1865. This law required all self-propelled vehicles on public roads to be preceded by a man on foot waving a red flag to warn pedestrians and horse-drawn vehicles. This measure was designed to make driving cars more difficult and less appealing, ultimately protecting the railroad industry's monopoly on transportation.
And now we're at it again, but this time we are attempting to encourage public transport in the name of sustainability.
That's one interpretation. It could also be viewed as a sensible safeguard that we've rescinded in favor of convenience.
Flag-wavers still walk ahead of forklifts and construction equipment. It must have had some purpose beyond suppressing adoption of cars.
Maybe link directly to the fortune article?
I hope it guides UAE policy and the policies of functional political systems, but I'm not holding my breath thinking American political discourse will take this topic seriously at all.
"If you believe AI should be open, then you support terrorism and child sex trafficking" is the only outcome I anticipate.
many schisms, wars and revolutions before the printing press. this postulation seems too convenient ..
But -for good or for evil- the printing press can be fingered as the direct and/or indirect culprit in quite a number of cases!
Think of the wars associated with the rise of Protestantism, or more directly the reproduction of revolutionary literature, spreading of propaganda, or the slightly unethical tabloid owners pressing for war in the 19th century.
so WAR with military hierarchy specifically existed before the spread of the Bible and other standardized written works. The printing press expanded books, and enabled new ones. Where in that sequence is the printing press "the direct and/or indirect culprit" ? It is not, War was an objective and activity before the Bible, during the early Bible, and later with the printing press versions of the Bible. If anything, the exercise of literacy among non-priesthood, expanded 100-fold civilian activity.
It is a serious subject, so please forgive me being pedantic.
Again: war existed before the invention of the printing press, and war existed after the invention of the printing press. Arguably most wars were not caused directly or indirectly by the printing press. The use of military hierarchy in warfare predates the printing press.
However, in some wars, the cause can be lead back to the use of the printing press, directly or indirectly. And some new forms of warfare are made possible by the printing press.
While we can argue how essential a printing press is to the tenets of Protestantism, it is inarguable that the spread of the protestant faith was greatly accelerated by the ability to print pamphlets and disseminate the writings of Martin Luther and other reformers. Protestantism's concept of 'Sola scriptura' also required the translation of the bible into people's local language, and the dissemination of a large number of these translated bibles. Without the printing press this would have been rather tricky.
Of course, as a later consequence, the Protestant Reformation then sparked several wars between the new Protestant faith and the Catholics who considered them to be heretics.
(Eg the formation of the Netherlands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighty_Years%27_War -- The lead-up: "Charles [V] aspired to counter the Protestant Reformation and keep all his subjects obedient to the Catholic Church." )
Some people say that pulling "principle cause" from chapters of history is very difficult from a Science point of view, since the entire experiment has so many parts, and cannot be replicated. So it is here. best to all from California
Sure there is a small amount of risk in future AI, but I believe that AI present and future will give us a better chance of mitigating other existential risks.
I think Lecun may be the force behind Meta releasing useful models for individuals and organizations to use. If that is true, I would like to thank him!
Both happened at the same time, but we cannot conclude that banning the printing press caused the decline. The printing press ban might just have been another symptom of the overall misgovernment that generated the decline.