From the “AI Wild West” to techbros obsessed with the Roman Empire, history is often used as a prop in stories about the AI Age. It is also a common reference subject in boardrooms and tech conferences where historical images of steam engines, telegraph poles, and happy, smiling people are regularly used to make promises in AI policy discussions, planning, and ethical debates.
But what happens when the “history” people use to make big decisions about AI is warped, half-baked, or flat-out wrong?
Historians and critical history educators have a crucial role to play in debates around AI. Building from Klaus Schwab’s declaration that we are in the midst of a “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” L.K.’sclasses and lectures use the real histories of the first three industrial revolutions help equip engineers, policy makers, leaders, and innovators to make better decisions.
More than a study of the past, connecting to history helps students and people from all walks of life a deeper understanding of the origins, pressures, and possibilities of our own historic times. Want to learn more? Check out more on L.K.’s approach to critical historical education in AI Age here:
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