How the French Philosopher Jean Baudrillard Predicted Today’s AI 30 Years Before ChatGPT
Jean Baudrillard’s brilliance was in anticipating what early communication devices like fax machines hinted about the future of technology. While some writers have been so precise in their analysis of the intersection between society and technology that they earned the title of “prophet” — such as Butler, Marshall McLuhan, and Donna Haraway — Baudrillard stands out as a key figure in this circle.
Although his reputation has faded somewhat over the past decades, linked to an era dominated by French theorists like Roland Barthes and Jacques Derrida, our new biography of Baudrillard highlights how accurate his technological predictions were. His insights into digital culture and artificial intelligence came more than 30 years before the arrival of ChatGPT.
Foreseeing Digital Culture in the 1980s
During the 1980s, the most advanced communication tools were now-obsolete devices such as answering machines, fax machines, and France’s Minitel — an early interactive online service preceding the internet. Baudrillard’s genius was to grasp what these simple technologies implied about the future possibilities of digital tools.
By the late 1970s, he had already begun formulating a unique theory about information and communication, laying the groundwork for understanding how these technologies would evolve and impact society.
"Baudrillard’s genius lay in foreseeing what these relatively rudimentary devices suggested about likely future uses of technology."
Legacy as a Visionary Thinker
Despite the passing of time and changing intellectual trends, Baudrillard’s foresight on modern technology remains relevant today, demonstrating his unique ability to interpret early signals of the digital age and AI’s rise.
His ideas invite us to reflect on the profound transformation in communication and the role technology plays in shaping human experience.
Author’s Summary
Jean Baudrillard predicted the rise of digital culture and AI decades before ChatGPT, revealing a rare foresight into the technological shifts shaping our world today.