The Age of Discovery and the Opening of Global Trade - Why the 2020s Resemble the 1420s and What We Can Learn From It.

As the advent of Artificial Intelligence brings human society to the cusp of a New World, a glance back 600 years ago to 15th century Europe reveals a similar startling and pivotal moment in human history. It is a moment from which we, today, can learn.

Starting in the 1420s, “Prince Henry the Navigator,” of Portugal, spearheaded a major technological breakthrough and launched what would become known as the “Age of Discovery” or the “Age of Exploration.” Portuguese ship designers invented a fast, lightweight craft called a caravel that could navigate both open ocean and shallow coastal waters, as well as sail close to the wind. Under Prince Henry’s sponsorship, Portuguese explorers began probing down the West Coast of Africa — past fearsome “Cape No” (in today’s Morocco) and into the Unknown.

Their first goal was to find the source of gold and slaves that were being transported overland by Arab traders from somewhere in Africa, north across the Sahara Desert, and into North African markets along the Mediterranean. They also sought to locate a Christian king, known as Prester John, rumored to live in Africa. For decades, these pioneering Portuguese navigators inched their way down Africa’s West Coast and finally landed south of the Sahara where they established their own trade in gold and slaves, thereby launching the wealthy Portuguese Empire. Carrying on even after Prince Henry’s death, these Portuguese navigators eventually “discovered” the southern tip of Africa, rounded it, and sailed across the ocean to India. Here they found incredible wealth — in the form of exotic spices such as pepper and cinnamon that were literally worth their weight in gold back in Europe.

Thus was launched the Age of Exploration. Columbus, in competition with the Portuguese, sailed westward for Spain and “discovered” the New World.

Based on the exploration history of Africa as told in my book “At the Mercy of the River” (2005), this lively talk relates the story of these adventurers who looked over the horizon and also explores the parallels with the pioneering of today’s AI technology.