Opening Story – The Industrial Revolution Analogy

Imagine England in the late 18th century. Steam engines roared to life, machines whirred, and factories transformed the quiet countryside into centers of relentless activity. Workers were displaced, entire crafts vanished, and chaos spread as society struggled to adapt. Yet, from that turbulence came new skills, urban growth, innovations, and eventually, higher living standards for millions.

Today, AI is our new “steam engine.” Machines learn faster than any human could, process information with lightning speed, and accumulate knowledge across fields. We feed them data, train them, and yet — as they grow more powerful — they increasingly shape our world, sometimes in ways we cannot fully control.