From Dictionary Craze to AI
What does the eighteenth-century 'dictionary craze' have in common with the AI revolution taking place today? Quite a lot actually, according to former SCAS Pro Futura Scientia Fellow Linn Holmberg, who claims that the eighteenth-century 'dictionary craze' "forms a striking parallel to our time".
Not only today, but also 300 years ago new information technology revolutionized the way people accessed and consumed information. And now as then, it caused not only enthusiasm but also worry. In her upcoming book The Dictionary Craze in Enlightenment Europe, Linn Holmberg explores the reception and cultural impact of the alphabetically-organized reference-work - the dictionary - as a new information technology, as the genre had its breakthrough on book markets across Europe.
Check out the recent video From Dictionary Craze to AI* External link, opens in new window. (4 min.) to get a glimpse of her findings - what the similarities to today's AI development are, and what surprised Holmberg the most.
Linn Holmberg is Associate Professor of History of Ideas at Stockholm University. She was admitted to the Pro Futura Scientia Programme at SCAS in 2019 and the featured research was conducted during Holmberg's time as a Pro Futura Scientia Fellow.
*The video From Dictionary Craze to AI External link, opens in new window. is produced by Stockholm University.