From oral tradition to artificial intelligence: how we remember

In Brazil, sociologist Cristóvão Feil traces how humans have preserved and processed information, from ancient oral traditions to modern artificial intelligence.

Before writing, people relied on memory and storytelling to pass on knowledge. The invention of writing, and later the printing press, allowed for the storage and wider dissemination of information, fundamentally changing how people thought and learned. These shifts weren’t simply technological.

The transition from oral to written culture in ancient Greece gave rise to philosophy, moving knowledge from emotional performance to logical argumentation. While writing preserved authorship, the printing press standardized texts, enabling scientific replication and religious reform. Digital computing then created a dynamic, searchable memory, shifting the focus from remembering to filtering information. Now, with the rise of AI, Feil argues that we must cultivate “critical curation”, questioning the machine rather than passively accepting its output.

Physicist Roger Penrose suggests that “artificial intelligence” is a misnomer, and “artificial cleverness” would be more accurate, as current systems lack genuine understanding or creativity. Feil concludes by emphasizing the importance of skepticism and continuous questioning, echoing the Socratic ideal of doubting everything to avoid succumbing to “false wisdom.”