The article explores how the Enlightenment era (1680-1800) marked the last significant creation of a new civilization through transformative mega-inventions, paralleling today's technological advancements. Key inventions included mechanical engines and financial capitalism, which inform today’s developments like artificial intelligence and digital democracy. Communication breakthroughs among intellectual elites, driven by innovations like the printing press, facilitated rigorous discourse, enabling the flourishing of ideas that shaped modern governance and society. This historical context urges current society to recognize the potential of emerging technologies in catalyzing substantial change.
The Enlightenment birthed core technologies, economic systems, and governance that shaped the modern world, challenging today’s innovators to replicate such civilizational change.
The mega-inventions of The Enlightenment, driven by robust communication among intellectual elites, resulted from a tech revolution in printing, media, and public correspondence.
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