I have to admit, me and AI aren’t exactly friends. I hate the idea of artificial intelligence taking away artists’ jobs, turning all content into lifeless pieces written by computers and eliminating the need for anyone to actually use their brains. While I admit that I should probably be lessskeptical of these advancements, being wary of technology is nothing new.
We took a trip to thePessimists Archive, a project that features news clippings from the past warning about the dangers of technology, and gathered some of their most fascinating posts below. So keep reading to find a conversation with Louis Anslow, the creator of the archive, and enjoy scrolling through these interesting articles from way back when!
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Radio got a lot of s**t (Headlines from 20s 30s 40s)
Looking at headlines from past decades is always entertaining. It’s fascinating to see how well (or how poorly) journalists predicted the future, and it’s interesting to think about future generations chuckling at the news we’re receiving today. And one place that might make you realize just how little we knew about technology in the past is The Pessimists Archive. This site describes itself as “a project to jog our collective memories about the hysteria, technophobia and moral panic that often greets new technologies, ideas and trends.”
“We believe the best antidote to fear of the new is looking back at fear of the old,” the site’s About section states. “Only by looking back at fears of old things when they were new, can we have rational constructive debates about emerging technologies today that avoids the pitfalls of moral panic and incumbent protectionism.”
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1891 had deepfake p**n too
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To learn more about how the Pessimists Archive came about in the first place, we reached out to the project’s creator, Louis Anslow. Louis was kind enough to have a chat with We and share some background information about the archive.
First, we wanted to know what inspired him to launch the project. “A frustration with the cynicism about new technologies and the lack of appreciation for how science and technology has made life so much better than the past,” Louis says.
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We were also curious about what it’s been like for Louis to see the site grow so popular. “I thought people would find it interesting, but its early popularity was surprising,” he admitted. “Gwyneth Paltrow follows us on Twitter.”
And as far as how he finds the content that gets shared in the archive, Louis says, “Pessimists Archive would not be possible without online archives that allow you to search newspaper scans as easily as web pages. It allowed me to do the jobs of a team of archival researchers that used to take a long time.”
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Theory about Spanish Flu from 1919
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“Movies, radios, automobiles and popular fiction are to blame for the inability of the modern pupil to concentrate.”- The Gazette, Montreal, 1926
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We also asked Louis what he believes we can learn from the old newspaper clippings that get shared on Pessimists Archive. “They are a mirror to humanity that show us the irrational fears we can fall prey to and how people with power use those fears to preserve their standing in society,” he told We.
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Finally, we wanted to know what headlines from today could end up in a Pessimists Archive of the future. “The conversation around Artificial Intelligence causing mass unemployment, and even wiping out humanity – were floated by one of the pioneers of Artificial Intelligence – Norbert Weiner, in the 1950s,” Louis says. So it’s likely that we’ll continue to mock those who are scared of AI!
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1927: Professor blames Jazz for decrease in bodily health after performing thousands of autopsies on mummies. Yearns for the good old days of ancient Egypt.
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While it might sound silly to be fearful of technology, it’s actually quite common to have worries. So common, in fact, that the term “technophobia” has been coined. (And no, that does not mean a fear of techno music.) According to the Cleveland Clinic, adults and seniors are more likely to develop this specific fear than younger individuals, as we tend to use technology less and less as we age. One study found that 60% of adults between the ages of 55 to 59 use the internet, while only a quarter of those aged 65 to 74 get online. And only a measly 6% of adults 74 and older use the internet.
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“Doctors say there is no doubt that sheer fright at the sight of the masked throngs caused insanity” (1919)
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“It holds a greater danger for this country, if not handled properly, than it has ever held for any country in the history of the world” – Elko Independent, 1915
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1928 screed against colour TV
The Cleveland Clinic explains that technophobia can be caused by general anxiety about the future, mass hysteria about unknown technological advancements, and media portrayals of “doomsday scenarios” where technology starts targeting or overpowering humans. Some of the symptoms that someone who’s technophobic might experience are avoiding getting a new phone or computer, criticizing technological advancements or changes, refusing to use computers or ATMs, being resistant to software updates, and refusing to use automatic processes to pay bills.
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Man yearns for the good old days of 1860 when kids didn’t have info overload (1910)
“If they got back to the simplicity of fifty years ago, when books were fewer, they would find that the children would take more interest in a better class of books.”
If you’re a little bit technophobic yourself, it might be reassuring to hear a few reasons why we have no reason to fear AI. According to Nigel Barber, PhD, at Psychology Today, AI is simply a tool for improving our productivity. It’s not actually out to take all of our jobs, and it can never replace human interaction. Plus, many of our fears associated with it, along with other new technologies, are irrational. AI is not going to be perfect anytime soon. Anyone who regularly uses ChatGPT knows that it has limitations, and it could take decades to create robots that can successfully mimic what a human can write. Don’t be scared to try it out; it might even make your life easier!
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The Social Network, 1928
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Childhood ruined! – The Evening Independent – Dec 7, 1939
We hope you’re enjoying scrolling through these interesting headlines from the past, pandas. Although some of them aren’t actually very old at all, it’s fascinating to see how things, and opinions, change over time. Keep upvoting the pics you find particularly fascinating, and let us know in the comments what headlines from today you imagine will be mocked in the future. Be sure to check out Pessimists Archive’s newsletter, and then, if you’re interested in reading another We piece discussing technological advancements, look no further than right here!
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1941 warning about ‘radio time’
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