Why History Should Calm Our Fears About AI

It seems like everyone is afraid of AI. The rapid rise of tools like ChatGPT has sparked a wave of anxiety, with headlines warning of everything from mass job displacement to the end of human creativity. But according to technology historian Vanessa Chang, this panic is far from new. In fact, she argues that history provides a hopeful perspective, suggesting we have more creative control over our technological future than we might think.

In her book, The Body Digital, Chang makes the case that our current fear is just the latest chapter in a long story of human-machine interaction. She encourages us to look back at history, not with fear, but with a sense of agency.

A Familiar Fear Historys Pattern of Tech Panic

Every generation seems to have its own technological boogeyman. Chang points out that from cuckoo clocks and player pianos to gramophones, new inventions have consistently been met with panic. The great composer John Philip Sousa, for example, famously worried that recorded music would destroy human musicianship and replace authentic performance with sterile, mechanical reproductions. Today’s fears about AI generating art or writing echo these century-old anxieties.

This historical pattern is instructive. It shows us that tech anxiety is a constant, not a unique crisis of our time. Furthermore, both writing and AI belong to the same evolutionary story. They are technologies designed to extend human thought beyond the physical body. Before writing, ideas died with the person who had them. Afterward, they could travel across time and space. AI is simply the next iteration in this ancient human project of augmenting our minds.

The Body as a Living Interface

Chang’s central thesis is that our bodies have always been technological. We often think of technology as something separate from us—a tool we pick up and put down. However, simple inventions like eyeglasses, clocks, and even the written word are deeply integrated into our embodied experience. They are extensions of ourselves that reshape how we sense, think, and interact with the world.

The digital age hasn't invented the concept of the “body digital”; it has only given it a new name. Understanding this long history helps us see that we are not passive victims of technology but active participants in its evolution.

Reclaiming Our Agency in the Digital Age

The most critical question isn't whether technology will change us, but who gets to design that change. The real danger isn't AI itself, but the risk of allowing a few powerful corporate interests to dictate the terms of our technological lives without democratic input or creative resistance.

It's also crucial to remember that AI isn't an all-knowing oracle. Large language models are profoundly shaped and limited by their training data, the biases of their developers, the invisible labor of content moderators, and the commercial goals of the companies that own them. The myth of an omniscient AI obscures the very human choices and limitations built into these systems.

Instead of succumbing to reactionary hysteria, Chang urges a different path. Don’t just be scared of ChatGPT—get creative. By understanding our history with technology, we can reclaim our agency and actively shape these powerful new tools to serve human ends.