The printing press, a technology financed by the Catholic Church to solidify its power, was weaponized by Martin Luther to dismantle that same power. By printing pamphlets with bullet-pointed arguments, he bypassed the establishment's information monopoly, acting as the first mass-media disruptor.
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The printing press wasn't conceived for Bibles or intellectual enlightenment. It was a commercial hustle by Gutenberg to automate the production of "indulgences"—paid certificates from the Catholic Church promising salvation. The press solved a production bottleneck for a highly profitable product.
Protestantism offered a direct route to heaven through good deeds and faith, eliminating the need to pay the Catholic Church for "indulgences." This reframes a major religious schism as an appealing financial proposition for a populace being heavily taxed for salvation.
Even though anyone can create media, legacy brands like The New York Times retain immense power. Their established brands are perceived by the public as more authoritative and trustworthy, giving them a 'monopoly on truth' that new creators lack.
Ken Burns argues that beyond taxes and representation, the American Revolution was propelled by escalating media rhetoric. The more colonial newspapers labeled the crown tyrannical, the more tyrannical it acted, creating an inflammatory feedback loop that pushed both sides toward conflict.
The Church has a tradition of embracing technological progress, from monks copying books to using the printing press and radio. The slow adoption of the internet is seen as an exception they are now trying to correct with AI.
The medium dictates the message. Early blogging platforms, with their emphasis on linking and long-form text, fostered a culture of idea exploration. In contrast, Twitter's short, meme-heavy format inherently promotes conflict, one-upmanship, and extremism, fundamentally changing the nature of online discourse.
New technology can ignite violent conflict by making ideological differences concrete and non-negotiable. The printing press did this with religion, leading to one of Europe's bloodiest wars. AI could do the same by forcing humanity to confront divisive questions like transhumanism and the definition of humanity, potentially leading to similar strife.
The suspicious death of an MIT fusion researcher echoes historical patterns, like Nikola Tesla's suppression, where breakthrough technologies threatening established industries (e.g., energy) face violent opposition from powerful incumbents like 'Big Oil'.
The era of limited information sources allowed for a controlled, shared narrative. The current media landscape, with its volume and velocity of information, fractures consensus and erodes trust, making it nearly impossible for society to move forward in lockstep.
Social influence has become even more concentrated in the hands of a few. While the 'super spreader' phenomenon has always existed for ideas and diseases, modern technology dramatically enhances their power by increasing their reach and, crucially, making them easier for others to identify and target.
