Why the Ottoman empire banned the printing press | Yann LeCun and Lex Fridman

Summary

The script discusses the profound impact of the printing press on history, enabling the Enlightenment, democracy, and scientific progress, but also leading to religious conflicts. It draws a parallel to the current debate on AI, questioning whether its regulation might protect certain interests, such as jobs, and speculates on the unpredictable effects of technological transformation on the job market.

Takeaways

• 📚 The printing press was instrumental in the Enlightenment, enabling the spread of philosophy, rationalism, and scientific thought.
• 💡 It allowed for the democratization of knowledge and contributed to the American and French Revolutions, moving societies away from feudal regimes.
• 🌍 The printing press transformed the world by making people smarter and more informed about various subjects.
• 📖 The Bible was one of the first texts widely printed, leading to religious conflicts and the Protestant Reformation due to differing interpretations.
• 🏛️ The Catholic Church initially opposed the printing press but eventually had to accept it.
• 🚫 The Ottoman Empire banned the printing press for 200 years, particularly for Arabic, to maintain control over religious dogma and the population.
• 🖋️ The ban also served to protect the powerful corporation of calligraphers and scribes, who had significant influence in the empire.
• 🤖 The analogy of AI today raises questions about who benefits from its regulation and whether it's meant to protect certain jobs from technological disruption.
• 🏢 There are concerns about the impact of AI on the job market, but economists suggest a gradual shift rather than mass unemployment.
• 🔮 Future professions might be unpredictable, as seen in the rise of mobile app developers with the advent of smartphones, and potentially in the metaverse.

Q & A

What role did the printing press play in the Enlightenment?

The printing press facilitated the Enlightenment by enabling the widespread dissemination of philosophical, rationalist, and scientific ideas, which helped people escape from religious doctrine and contributed to the development of democracy.

How did the printing press influence the American and French Revolutions?

The printing press allowed for the spread of revolutionary ideas and the communication of political dissent, which was crucial in sparking the American and French Revolutions. Without the printing press, these revolutions might not have occurred, and societies could have remained under feudal regimes.

What were some of the negative effects of the printing press?

The printing press led to about 200 years of religious conflicts in Europe. The first widely printed text was the Bible, and people began to question the interpretations provided by the clergy, leading to the Protestant Reformation and religious rifts.

Why did the Catholic Church initially dislike the printing press?

The Catholic Church was initially against the printing press because it threatened to undermine their control over religious doctrine and the dissemination of information. However, they eventually had to adapt to the new technology.

What was the Ottoman Empire's stance on the printing press, and why did they ban it for 200 years?

The Ottoman Empire banned the printing press for 200 years, specifically for Arabic, to preserve the control over the population and religious dogma. Additionally, it was to protect the corporation of calligraphers and scribes, who held significant power and influence in the empire.

How does the situation with the printing press in the Ottoman Empire compare to the current debate on AI regulation?

The comparison suggests that just as the Ottoman Empire's ban on the printing press for Arabic was meant to protect certain powerful interests, today's calls for AI regulation may be influenced by those seeking to protect their jobs and interests in the face of technological transformation.

What are the potential effects of AI on the job and labor market?

While there is debate among economists, the general consensus is that AI will not cause mass unemployment but will lead to a gradual shift in professions. The exact nature of future jobs, especially in emerging fields like the metaverse, is difficult to predict.

How has the job market evolved in the past 20 years due to technological advancements?

The job market has seen significant changes with the rise of technology. For example, the role of mobile app developer became prominent with the invention of smartphones, which did not exist 20 years ago.

What is the metaverse, and how might it influence future job opportunities?

The metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual reality. It is expected to create new job opportunities, although the specifics are hard to predict at this stage.

How did the invention of the printing press impact the average person's access to knowledge?

The printing press democratized access to knowledge by making books more affordable and widely available. This allowed people to learn about a variety of subjects and question established authority, leading to increased literacy and a more informed public.

What was the role of the scribes and calligraphers in the Ottoman Empire, and how were they affected by the printing press?

In the Ottoman Empire, scribes and calligraphers were responsible for writing and illuminating manuscripts, which was a highly respected art form. The introduction of the printing press threatened their livelihood, leading to its ban in Arabic to protect this powerful group's interests.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Impact of the Printing Press on Enlightenment and Society

The first paragraph discusses the profound influence of the printing press on the Enlightenment era, highlighting its role in disseminating philosophy, rationalism, and democratic ideals. It emphasizes the printing press's contribution to the American and French Revolutions and the shift from feudal regimes. However, it also acknowledges the technology's role in sparking religious conflicts in Europe due to differing interpretations of the Bible. The paragraph contrasts this with the Ottoman Empire's ban on the printing press for Arabic, which was intended to protect the interests of calligraphers and scribes, a powerful corporation within the empire.

Keywords

💡Enlightenment

The Enlightenment refers to an intellectual and philosophical movement that emerged in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. It emphasized reason, individualism, and the scientific method, and is considered a key precursor to modern Western society. In the video, the printing press is credited with enabling the spread of Enlightenment ideas, such as democracy and science, which in turn led to significant historical events like the American and French Revolutions.

💡Printing Press

The printing press is a mechanical device for transferring text or images from one medium to another, typically from a plate or block to paper. Invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century, it revolutionized the spread of information by making the mass production of books and other printed materials possible. In the context of the video, the printing press is portrayed as a transformative technology that significantly influenced the spread of knowledge and ideas.

Highlights

The printing press was instrumental in the Enlightenment, enabling the spread of philosophy, rationalism, and scientific thought.

The printing press allowed for the democratization of knowledge and the escape from religious doctrine.

The American and French Revolutions might not have occurred without the printing press.

The printing press led to the transformation of societies from feudal regimes to more modern forms of governance.

The invention of the printing press resulted in about 200 years of religious conflicts in Europe.

The Protestant movement arose partly due to differing interpretations of the Bible that people could read for themselves.

The Catholic Church initially opposed the printing press but eventually had to accept it.

The Ottoman Empire banned the printing press for 200 years, specifically for Arabic, to maintain control over religious dogma.

The ban on the printing press in the Ottoman Empire was also to protect the powerful corporation of calligraphers and scribes.

The analogy of the printing press is compared to the current debate on AI regulation and its impact on jobs.

There is a concern that AI regulation might protect certain jobs at the expense of technological advancement.

Economists suggest that AI and technological transformation will not cause mass unemployment but rather a gradual shift in professions.

The future job market and labor market will be affected by AI and technological changes, but the exact nature of future professions is unpredictable.

Twenty years ago, it was difficult to predict the rise of jobs like mobile app developer, which became popular with the invention of smartphones.

The future might hold jobs in新兴产业 like the metaverse, which are currently unpredictable.

The impact of AI is a complex issue with potential benefits and drawbacks, much like the printing press.

The historical context of the printing press provides insight into the potential societal changes brought about by AI.

Transcripts

there wouldn't be an Enlightenment

without the printing press it enabled

uh philosophy

rationalism U escape from religious

Doctrine um

democracy

science uh and certainly without this it

wouldn't be there wouldn't have been the

American Revolution or the French

Revolution and so was still beond a

feudal regimes

perhaps um and so it completely

transformed the the world because people

became smarter and kind of learn learned

about things now it also created 200 100

Years of essentially religious conflicts

in Europe right because the first thing

that people read was the

Bible and uh realized that perhaps it

was a different interpretation of the

Bible than what the priests were telling

them

and so that created the Protestant

movement and created the rift and in

fact the Catholic School the Catholic

Church didn't like the idea of the

printing price but they had no choice

and so it had some bad effects and some

some good effects I don't think anyone

today would say that the invention of

the printing press had a overall

negative effect despite the fact that it

created 200 years of religious

conflicts uh in Europe now compare this

and I I thought uh I was very proud of

myself to come up with this analogy but

realized someone else came with the same

idea before me um compare this with what

happened in the Ottoman Empire the

Ottoman Empire banned the printing press

for 200

years

uh and it didn't ban it uh for all

languages only for Arabic you could

actually print books in Latin or Hebrew

or whatever in the Ottoman Empire just

just not in

Arabic and

uh I thought it was because the rers

just wanted to preserve the control over

the population and the Dogma religious

dogma and everything but after talking

with the uh UAE minister of AI uh Omar

Al um he told me no there was another

reason uh and the other reason was that

uh it was to preserve the corporation of

calligraphers right there's like an art

form which is you know writing those

beautiful yes uh you know Arabic uh

poems or whatever religious text in in

this thing and it was very powerful

Corporation of scribes basically that

kind of you know run a big chunk of the

Empire and you know it couldn't put them

out of business so they you know banned

the P press in part to protect that

business

now what's the analogy for AI today like

who are we protecting by Banning AI like

who are the people who are asking that

AI be regulated to protect their their

jobs and of course you know there's it's

it's a it's a real question of what is

going to be the effect of uh you know

technological transformation like AI on

the on the job market and the labor

market and there Economist who are much

more exper at this and I am but when I

talk to them they they tell

us you know we're not going to run out a

job this this not this is not going to

cause mass unemployment this this is

just going to be gradual uh shift of

different professions the professions

are going to be hot 10 or 15 years from

now we have no idea today what they're

going to be the same way if we go back

20 years in the past like who could have

thought 20 years ago that like the

hottest job even like 5 10 years ago was

mobile app developer like smartphones

weren't invented most of the jobs of the

future might be in in the

metaverse well it could be yeah but the

point is you can't possibly

predict