Introduction
Johannes Gutenberg’s printing technology was a systematization of letterpress printing developed in mid-15th-century Germany.
By combining movable metal type, oil-based ink, and a screw press printing machine, it made the mass production of books and the popularization of knowledge possible.
Before this, book production in Europe was dominated by handwritten manuscripts created by scribes and by woodblock printing. Producing large numbers of books required enormous amounts of labor and time. Even creating a single book involved significant effort, which meant that books were inevitably expensive and accessible only to the wealthy and privileged classes.
Letterpress printing fundamentally overturned this premise.
Books shifted from being “possessions of a limited …
Introduction
Johannes Gutenberg’s printing technology was a systematization of letterpress printing developed in mid-15th-century Germany.
By combining movable metal type, oil-based ink, and a screw press printing machine, it made the mass production of books and the popularization of knowledge possible.
Before this, book production in Europe was dominated by handwritten manuscripts created by scribes and by woodblock printing. Producing large numbers of books required enormous amounts of labor and time. Even creating a single book involved significant effort, which meant that books were inevitably expensive and accessible only to the wealthy and privileged classes.
Letterpress printing fundamentally overturned this premise.
Books shifted from being “possessions of a limited few” to becoming “objects that could be inexpensively distributed and shared.”
This technology spread rapidly across Europe and eventually throughout the world.
As a result, it had a profound impact on the Renaissance, the Reformation, and even the development of modern science.
Merits and Drawbacks
Looking back from a modern perspective, there is no doubt that letterpress printing was a major turning point in human history.
However, its spread did not bring uniform benefits to society.
First, printing technology took away the work of scribes, whose profession specialized in copying books by hand.
As a result, the occupation of scribes declined rapidly, and many people who had made their living through these skills lost their jobs.
The impact was not limited to scribes alone.
Merchants dealing in parchment for manuscripts, artisans who produced illuminated manuscripts, and lower-ranking clergy in monasteries who were involved in manuscript production all suffered significant setbacks as industries related to this field were affected.
At the same time, the mass circulation of books opened up the act of reading—previously limited to high-ranking clergy and the privileged classes—to a much broader population.
This was a revolutionary change in terms of the popularization of knowledge, but it also generated new forms of confusion.
While printing enlightened people, it also rapidly spread differing ideas and interpretations, accelerating religious and political conflicts and divisions.
Nevertheless, once letterpress printing was accepted by society, people did not stop using it.
The reason was simple.
- It allowed books to be printed quickly
- It enabled low-cost production
- It made it possible to replicate the same content in large quantities
These factors represented overwhelming rational advantages for those who used the technology.
Society began using this technology before fully judging whether it was right or whether it might make someone unhappy (or perhaps those involved knew and chose to ignore it).
Evaluation and meaning came only later.
Structural Similarities Between Letterpress Printing and AI
The reason I wrote this article is that I felt the historical circumstances surrounding printing technology share many similarities with the environment surrounding AI today.
The current situation surrounding AI closely resembles this structure.
AI has already entered the stage of practical use, and some jobs are clearly beginning to be replaced.
For example:
- Call center work
- Programmers
- Illustrators
- Administrative jobs
The list goes on.
Amid these changes, many people—including myself—are likely spending time without being able to determine “what will happen to my job” or “whether this change is truly right.”
We also frequently encounter critical news about AI.
Lawsuits against image generation platforms accused of using copyrighted works without permission, issues involving the unauthorized use of news media content, and cases in which AI chatbots have been used for criminal purposes are regularly reported.
Each time I see such news, I feel that, much like printing technology, AI is a technology that entered society before sufficient safety mechanisms and social rules were fully established.
If there is a difference, it is that the speed of change is much faster than in the age of printing, and the scope of its impact is far broader.
Looking back from the perspective of later generations, printing technology clearly contributed to human progress.
It broke the monopoly on knowledge, enabled diverse opinions and criticism, and supported the sharing and reproducibility of scientific knowledge.
However, this was not a future that people at the time predicted or intentionally chose.
Printing was simply used continuously, became established in society, and only later came to be interpreted as “a technology that was good for humanity.”
So, what will happen to AI?
AI may well follow a similar path.
Jobs will change, some will be lost, and new roles will emerge.
Of course, such a future is not automatically guaranteed. There will inevitably be periods of confusion and pain, and for some people, the losses will be significant. Even so, we have already begun living alongside AI.
Conclusion
Johannes Gutenberg’s printing technology, while accompanied by considerable pain and confusion, ultimately made a major contribution to the development of humanity.
AI, on the other hand, is still a technology whose value has not yet been determined.
In the future, it may be subject to strong regulation and fall out of general use. Conversely, it may continue to improve, become widely adopted, and be accepted after appropriate safety mechanisms and social rules are put in place.
No one can say which future will come to pass.
What history shows us, however, is that the meaning and value of a technology can only be determined after it has continued to be used.
Printing technology was not initially recognized as something “good for humanity.”
It was simply used, became established, and only later did its significance come to be discussed.
The same may be true of AI.
We are now living alongside a technology whose value has yet to be determined, spending time waiting for its meaning to be judged by history.
That is why I hope that AI, too, will ultimately bring something positive for humanity.
Thank you very much for reading!