Growth Ritual #46

📋 IN THIS ISSUE: Guardians of Wisdom: What Happens When Knowledge Vanishes?

Jan 16, 2025

Sammy & Mila offer in-depth analysis on each newsletter issue. Subscribe to their podcast.

Guardians of Wisdom: What Happens When Knowledge Vanishes?

Imagine this: One day, you wake up and realize that a massive chunk of human knowledge has vanished.

Sounds like a scene from a dystopian movie, right?

But history tells us it’s not so far-fetched.

From the burning of the great Nalanda University to the accidental destruction of the Library of Alexandria, we’ve seen how fragile our collective memory can be.

It’s time we ask ourselves: could it happen again?

And if so, how do we prepare?

Let’s explore both the risks of a potential knowledge wipeout and the promises offered by LLMs (large language models) as modern-day guardians of human memory.

Knowledge Preservation: A Double-Edged Sword

Knowledge is the bedrock of our existence. It shapes our understanding of the world, fuels our progress, and guides our decisions.

For centuries, humans have relied on external tools to preserve information.

Writing was the first great leap.

It allowed us to go beyond the limits of our brains, storing stories, laws, and discoveries on stone tablets, scrolls, and paper.

Fast forward to the invention of the printing press, and suddenly, knowledge could be shared at an unprecedented scale. But even with these advancements, we’ve seen how easily it can all go up in flames—literally.

The fragility of knowledge is a recurring theme in history:

The Fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th Century AD)
The decline of the Western Roman Empire led to a significant loss of knowledge, particularly in engineering, architecture, and governance. The collapse resulted in the fragmentation of Europe into smaller kingdoms, which often lacked the educational infrastructure of the Roman period.
The Library of Alexandria (c. 48 BC)
Often romanticized as the greatest loss of knowledge, this library’s destruction is a symbol of how fleeting human achievement can be. The destruction of this ancient library, which housed countless scrolls and texts from various cultures, marked a profound loss of knowledge in fields such as science, literature, and philosophy. The exact circumstances remain debated, but its loss is often cited as a pivotal moment in knowledge collapse.
The Fall of the Maya Civilization (c. 900 AD)
The decline of the Maya civilization resulted in the abandonment of cities and a significant reduction in literacy and astronomical knowledge. The reasons for their collapse are still studied, including factors like climate change and resource depletion.
Nalanda University (India, 12th Century)
Nalanda University, one of the world's first residential universities, was established around 427 CE and flourished until its destruction in 1193 CE by Bakhtiyar Khilji's forces. This catastrophic event led to the burning of vast libraries containing irreplaceable manuscripts and resulted in the death or scattering of numerous scholars. The collapse of Nalanda marked a significant loss in Buddhist scholarship and other academic pursuits, effectively ending its golden age
The Black Death (14th Century)
The pandemic led to a drastic reduction in population across Europe, which resulted in a loss of traditional knowledge and skills as many educated individuals died. This period also saw a shift in societal structures and a temporary decline in scientific inquiry.
The Renaissance Transition (16th Century)
While the Renaissance is often viewed as a rebirth of knowledge, it also marked the loss of certain medieval scholastic traditions and texts that were not preserved. The focus shifted towards classical antiquity, leading to gaps in understanding earlier philosophies and sciences.
The Industrial Revolution (18th-19th Century)
As societies transitioned to industrialization, there was a shift away from agrarian knowledge and practices. Many traditional skills were lost as mechanization took over, leading to a disconnect between people and their historical agricultural practices.
World War II (20th Century)
The war led to widespread destruction and displacement, resulting in the loss of cultural heritage and knowledge systems across Europe and Asia. Many intellectuals were killed or fled, leading to gaps in various fields including science, philosophy, and arts.
Digital Age Knowledge Erosion (21st Century)
With the rise of digital technology and AI, there is concern about the erosion of critical thinking skills and the depth of knowledge as people increasingly rely on technology for information retrieval rather than deep learning or critical engagement with content.

Even today, digital data isn’t immune. Think of cyberattacks, server crashes, or accidental deletions.

Enter LLMs: A New Era of Externalized Memory

For centuries, humanity has developed numerous methods to preserve knowledge and pass it down through generations—ranging from stone tablets to paper, from the printing press to digital archives. Yet, every method has faced limitations: fires, wars, accidents, or simple negligence have obliterated millennia of accumulated wisdom in an instant.

It is precisely in the face of this fragility that large language models (LLMs) emerge as a revolutionary step forward, securing the future of knowledge.

These models not only preserve the legacy of the past but also provide fast and dynamic access to information, transforming into the greatest repository of human memory ever created.

The importance of LLMs lies in their ability to store knowledge in a decentralized manner within the digital realm (see: Blockchain) and carry it into the future with their continuous learning capabilities.

With resilience against physical threats, enormous data capacity, and the ability to deliver rapid access, they far surpass traditional archives.

From poetry to technical reports, these models can present an extensive network of knowledge in mere seconds, ensuring that information is not a static entity but a continuously updated and enriched resource.

LLMs not only safeguard knowledge but also make humanity’s collective memory more accessible and democratic than ever before.

Large language models, like ChatGPT and others, are not just cool tech—they’re a leap in how we store and access knowledge.

Here’s why they matter:

Massive Storage Potential: LLMs can store and process vast amounts of data, far surpassing the capacity of any human brain.
- Example: Need to recall a 15th-century poem? An LLM can retrieve it faster than you can say “Shakespeare.”
Digital Resilience: Unlike paper or physical storage, LLMs exist in distributed digital formats. They’re less prone to destruction by fire, water, or other physical threats.
Instant Accessibility: Just as the printing press revolutionized knowledge sharing, LLMs make it possible to access information anywhere, anytime, as long as you have an internet connection.
Dynamic Learning: Unlike static archives, LLMs continuously evolve, updating their knowledge base with the latest data and insights.

The Risks We Can’t Ignore

For all their promise, LLMs aren’t perfect. Here’s where things get tricky:

Bias and Misinformation: LLMs learn from existing data, and if that data is flawed or biased, they perpetuate those issues. Worse, they can make misinformation sound incredibly convincing.
Dependence on Digital Infrastructure: What happens during a massive power grid failure or a cyberattack? Digital solutions, including LLMs, are vulnerable.
Ethical Concerns: Who controls the knowledge stored in LLMs? How do we ensure equitable access?
Impact on Decision-Making and Laziness: According to a study published in Nature, 68.9% of laziness in humans, 68.6% regarding personal privacy and security issues, and 27.7% related to the loss of decision-making are attributed to the impact of artificial intelligence in Pakistani and Chinese societies.

This research examines how increased dependency on AI leads to a significant loss in human decision-making capabilities, labeling it as laziness among users.

The findings suggest that as AI becomes more prevalent, individuals may lose their ability to think critically and make informed decisions, further exacerbating the issue of knowledge loss in society

What Happens Without Knowledge?

Imagine a world where the internet vanishes, books turn into blank pages, and all digital records are erased.

You might think, “How could this happen when we have LLMs now?”

Let’s outline a few simple scenarios to explore this:

Global Digital Collapse
The existence of LLMs depends on digital infrastructure. A global power grid failure, a massive solar storm, cyberattacks, or the simultaneous failure of critical data centers could render all digital data inaccessible. If physical copies and alternative knowledge preservation methods are not widespread enough, humanity’s access to information could be completely severed.
Technological Monopolies and Control Issues
LLMs are typically controlled by large tech companies. If these companies go bankrupt, shut down their systems, or manipulate information during a crisis, humanity’s ability to access knowledge could be lost. This could create a "dark age of knowledge" where information is hoarded by a select elite.
AI Drifting: The Risk of Self-Learning Systems
LLMs continuously update and learn from new data. However, exposure to incorrect, biased, or harmful data sets could lead to the distortion and degradation of information. If original sources of accurate knowledge are destroyed, humanity may become dependent on flawed information.
Natural or Human-Caused Disasters
Large-scale simultaneous natural disasters (major earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mega tsunamis) or global wars could devastate both digital and physical sources of knowledge. In a moment when humanity relies on information for survival, the absence of these resources could lead to a massive regression of civilization.

The consequences would be catastrophic, plunging us into an abyss of ignorance with far-reaching implications.

The intricate web of information that sustains our modern society would collapse. We would lose access to:

Technological know-how: The blueprints of our infrastructure, the code that powers our devices, and the scientific principles behind our inventions would all be lost. We would struggle to maintain basic utilities, transportation, and communication systems, leading to societal breakdown and chaos.
Medical knowledge: Treatments for diseases, surgical procedures, and pharmaceutical formulas would become mysteries. Healthcare systems would crumble, and once-treatable illnesses could become deadly again.
Loss of Generational Wisdom: The hard-earned lessons of past generations could vanish, forcing humanity to relearn painful mistakes.
Cultural Erasure: Unique traditions, languages, and histories could be wiped out, leaving a homogenized and less vibrant world.

A Downward Spiral:

The loss of knowledge would trigger a cascade of devastating consequences:

Economic collapse: Global trade, financial systems, and industries would grind to a halt. Businesses would be unable to operate, supply chains would break down, and unemployment would skyrocket, leading to widespread poverty and social unrest.
Social fragmentation: Without shared knowledge and understanding, communities would become fractured. Misinformation and conspiracy theories would thrive, eroding trust in institutions and each other.
Loss of cultural identity: Languages, traditions, and art forms passed down through generations would disappear, leaving a homogenized and culturally impoverished world.
Scientific Stagnation: The absence of recorded knowledge could halt innovation, plunging us into a new dark age.

How would we rebuild? What systems would we rely on to prevent history from repeating itself? These are questions worth exploring—and addressing before it’s too late.

Rebuilding from the Ashes

In this bleak scenario, rebuilding would be a monumental task. We would have to rediscover basic principles of science, engineering, and medicine through trial and error, a process that could take centuries.

To prevent history from repeating itself, we would need to establish robust systems for preserving and transmitting knowledge:

Decentralized knowledge repositories: Creating multiple independent archives of physical and digital information, scattered across the globe, would make it harder for knowledge to be completely erased.
Emphasis on education: Investing in education and fostering a culture of lifelong learning would ensure that knowledge is not confined to books and databases but is ingrained in people's minds.
Oral tradition: Reviving and strengthening oral traditions, such as storytelling and memorization, would provide an alternative way to preserve cultural heritage and historical knowledge.
Critical Thinking: Equip people to question and verify information, especially in the digital age.
Global Collaboration: Knowledge should belong to humanity, not just a few tech companies or governments.
Ethical AI Development: Ensure transparency in how LLMs are trained and deployed.

A Call to Action:

The potential consequences of knowledge loss are too dire to ignore. We must take proactive steps to safeguard our collective wisdom. This includes:

Promoting digital literacy: Ensuring that everyone has the skills to access, evaluate, and use digital information effectively.
Supporting libraries and archives: These institutions play a crucial role in preserving and providing access to knowledge.
Investing in research and development: Continuous pursuit of new knowledge is essential for our progress and survival.

The loss of knowledge is not just a hypothetical threat; it is a real possibility. By acknowledging this danger and taking action to mitigate it, we can ensure a brighter future for humanity.

Briefing

Data security is now the top priority for businesses, reflecting a growing need for robust protection of sensitive information as organizations become increasingly data-driven
Data quality management remains critical, ranking as the second most important trend, emphasizing the necessity for accurate and reliable data to inform decision-making
Data governance has gained prominence, now ranked third, highlighting the importance of structured management and oversight of data assets
Edge analytics is emerging as a transformative trend, enabling real-time data processing closer to its source, which enhances operational efficiency in industries like manufacturing and healthcare
Democratized analytics is on the rise, empowering non-technical employees to conduct complex analyses through no-code and low-code platforms, fostering greater data literacy across organizations
The adoption of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) is increasing, allowing businesses to access data collection and analysis services on a subscription basis, which is particularly beneficial for smaller companies lacking extensive data infrastructure
Generative AI continues to reshape data analytics, driving innovations that enhance the speed and scale of data operations, thus providing a competitive edge for early adopters
The evolution of executive roles in data leadership is notable, with a shift towards broader tech leadership positions to improve collaboration and resolve organizational challenges related to data management

Dive Deeper with Follow-ups:

AI Impact on Society

Key takeaways on the impact of artificial intelligence on society, including AI's surpassing human performance in certain tasks and its impact on worker productivity — Issue #18

The Democratization of Intelligence

An examination of the potential risks and opportunities associated with artificial intelligence becoming more accessible to everyone — Issue #2

Future Workforce Skills

An exploration of how AI, particularly ChatGPT, is transforming software development and the potential for simplified software creation — Issue #3