“Our Knowledge System Has Collapsed. 
Can We Survive Without It?” 
By Ted Gioia 

I just read an article in The Free Press titled “Our Knowledge System Has Collapsed,” in which the author, Ted Gioia, seems to have the same concern I have about AI, although he takes it to another level.

Like me, he argues that the AI revolution is the most consequential transformation of our century. Like me, too, he says it is already underway, even if it hasn’t been widely recognized at scale. He compares it to past seismic shifts – the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, or the rise of Christianity, events that took centuries to earn names yet reshaped everything. “The biggest changes often happen long before they even get a name,” he says. “By the time the scribes notice, the world is already reborn.”

Another concern we share is that our entire cultural and informational infrastructure – where truth, expertise, and credible knowledge historically resided – is now unravelling. Politically, socially, and economically, Gioia asserts, the system of knowledge that oriented us for centuries has weakened to the point of collapse.

I don’t agree with all of his claims – for example, his assertion that without shared sources of truth, collective decision-making becomes volatile and that populism, misinformation, and factional narratives fill the void. But overall, the essay provides several “takeaways” that are worth considering:

1. We’re mid-transition right now, and the full significance isn’t obvious yet – just like what happened with the Renaissance. But what we are experiencing is a total shift – one that, like the Renaissance, deserves a name.

2. This isn’t insider curation, it’s a grassroots rebellion: We still trust folks with hands-on skills, but distrust those with credentials only.

3. The “knowledge collapse” Gioia refers to in the title of the essay isn’t nostalgia for old institutions. It’s an urgent wake-up call. We must find new ways to ferret out what is true and what is just AI.

You can read the essay here.