Innovators’ freedom to challenge our paradigms: Why the Copernican legacy should guide our progression through the incipient age of artificial intelligence

Conference item

Despite originating from the innovative, yet niche work of an astronomically interested polymath living in the gloomy aftermath of the European medieval period, the Copernican Revolution is considered to be the historical progenitor of many freedoms that we enjoy in modern secularised societies. But while the notion of the Copernican Revolution primarily refers to its role as the igniter of a singular chain reaction with historical momentum, I argue that Copernicus’ true legacy stands for a freedom in itself that has not lost its significance ever since its birth in the dead of the 16th-century: innovators’ freedom to challenge the prevailing paradigms of their times. This essay is meant to be a thought-provoking treatise in defence of this freedom. Firstly, based on a brief historical excursus I derive the argument why innovators’ influence on societal paradigms has always been a main driver of societal progression. Secondly, I consider why innovations related to the recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be the portents of another paradigm shift. Thirdly, I discuss why and how innovators’ freedom to challenge the prevailing paradigms of our time is worth defending.

Authors: Festerling, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: St. Gallen Symposium
• Publication date: 2020-09-18
• Acceptance date: 2020-04-03
• Event title: 50th St. Gallen Symposium
• Event location: St. Gallen, Switzerland
• Event website: https://www.symposium.org/
• Event start date: 2021-05-06
• Event end date: 2021-05-07
• Language: English
• Keywords: intergenerational change; paradigm shifts; history of innovation; artificial intelligence; FFR