2025 is bound to shock us and leave us breathless with headlines about AI replacing jobs and transforming society (along with other chaotic and unpredictable twists the new political regime will likely inflict). We feel we have to bring some practical reassuring messages and a more pragmatic perspective so we can collectively catch our breath and remember: we've been here before. Many times, in fact.
From the moment humans first planted seeds instead of following herds, to the first marks made on clay tablets to track trades, to the use of steam power and electricity, our species has repeatedly reinvented how we work, organize ourselves, and create value.
Each of these transformations brought with it a similar mix of excitement and dread, debates about jobs, skills, and social impact. And each changed society in ways that few could have predicted.
When Technology Reimagined Work
Consider these moments in history. Around 3200 BCE when writing systems emerged, they didn't just change record-keeping – they created entirely new occupations like scribes and administrators, and gave birth to formal education. In the 17th century when the printing press democratized information, it didn't just produce books – it sparked scientific revolution and created new and adjacent industries such as publishing and journalism leading to increased literacy rates. In the 1760s when steam power mechanized production, it didn't just speed up manufacturing – it transformed where and how people lived, creating modern cities and the middle class. In the 1870s, electricity didn't just light up cities – it enabled 24-hour operations, transformed household work, and created entire new industries from appliances to entertainment. In the 1960s, computers didn't just automate calculations – they gave birth to software development, IT consulting, and transformed every industry from banking to healthcare. The 1990s Internet didn't just connect computers – it created e-commerce, digital marketing, and remote work, while transforming traditional roles like retail and customer service. Even the 2007 iPhone didn't just make phones smarter – it sparked the app economy, gig work platforms, and transformed how we consume media, navigate cities, and interact with each other.
Just as each of these innovations created ripples far beyond their original purpose, today's AI isn't just automating tasks – it's creating new roles like prompt engineers and AI ethicists, while transforming existing professions from law to medicine, and reshaping how we approach creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving.
What's fascinating is that despite the big differences in technologies, the patterns repeat:
New technologies create more jobs than they destroy – the transition is rarely easy or smooth
Skills transition are accelerated – requiring new ways to learn and adapt
Shifts are require in how work is organized – from how we collaborate to where work happens to who participates in work
Social institutions develop ways to adapt to these changes – from education to labor protection
Resistance to change evolves into acceptance – as benefits become clear and adaptations take hold
The process repeats. This is what has been referred to as “disruptive technologies” in modern day vernacular.
What Can History Teach Us As We Enter the AI Era?
Why does understanding these historical patterns matter?
Technological revolutions tend to augment human capabilities rather than purely replace them. Just as calculators and computers didn't eliminate mathematicians but changed how they work, AI is likely to enhance human potential in unexpected ways. What we learned from history is the key to successful transitions has always been adaptability and continuous learning. The scribes who adapted to the printing press by becoming publishers and editors prospered more than those who resisted change. The industrial revolution succeeded because of steam engines and electricity, as well as how workers responded to these innovations by creating new management styles, delivering appropriate and effective education, and protecting workers through labor rights.
What the response systems have in common is that humans need to learn new behaviors. Isn’t this the core of the human capital function – helping humans adapt and be successful in their work? HR leaders and organizations can learn from history and navigate transitions effectively. Just as past transformations required systematic approaches to workforce evolution, HR teams today can use this framework to support both employees and organizations to be successful:
Strategy: Understand how innovation and the adoption of new technology impact the business model so that HR can develop and implement appropriate responses. This could include building adaptive learning infrastructures that help employees continuously upskill, much like how guilds evolved into formal apprenticeship systems during the Industrial Revolution.
Policy: Develop appropriate policies that support workers and organizations to achieve the business model. This could include designing hybrid organizational models and redesigned jobs that balance AI automation with human creativity and judgment, similar to how factories had to balance mechanization with human craftsmanship.
Programs: Design new frameworks for evaluating and validating skills as traditional credentials become less relevant, just as the printing press democratized knowledge and changed how expertise was measured
Remember: The organizations that thrived through past technological revolutions weren't necessarily the ones with the most advanced technology, but rather those that best managed the human side of transformation. As HR leaders, we have a unique opportunity to shape how our organizations navigate this latest revolution.
Our 2025 Ambition
Every month in 2025, we'll be researching each of these historical transformations, extracting lessons relevant to today's AI era and bring the learnings to you through these 3 lenses – strategy, policy, programs, and where possible identify how to quantify the economic value of human capital to enterprise outcomes. We'll examine:
How societies managed the transition from one way of working to another
How organizations evolved to create and capture new value
What policies and programs evolved to accommodate workers
What strategies organizations used to help workers adapt to these changes
What shifts we saw from a labor perspective
Each month, we'll focus on a different technological revolution - from the Agricultural, Writing, Maritime, Information, Mechanical, Electrical, Space & Nuclear, Automation, to the Digital Age - drawing parallels to today's challenges and opportunities with AI. As AI headlines flood our social feeds, remember that humanity has navigated these waters before, and perhaps we can learn from the past to be more effective in the future. Given that these transitions are often difficult and painful for those experiencing them, understanding where we've been might be the key to understanding how we can effectively get to the future.
This is the first post in our year-long series "We've Been Here Before.” Subscribe to our newsletter to receive monthly missives with details about historical transformations and their lessons for the AI age.
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