في كل مرة يُذكر فيها مصطلح «تضخم»، تتجه الأنظار إلى البنوك المركزية، وأسعار الفائدة، وأسواق السلع. لكن ثمة نوع جديد من التضخم لا يُناقش كثيراً، ولا يظهر في مؤشرات الأسعار أو المستهلك. إنه «التضخم المعرفي»، الناتج عن انفجار الذكاء الاصطناعي، خصوصاً منذ دخول نماذج اللغة الكبيرة مثل ChatGPT إلى ساحة الإنتاج المعرفي العالمي.
لقد دخلنا عصراً تُنتَج فيه المعرفة بكميات هائلة، وبكلفة شبه صفرية. آلاف التحليلات، المذكرات، العروض التقديمية، الخطط والاستراتيجيات، تُكتب وتُولَّد في ثوانٍ، ليس عبر بشر، بل عبر نماذج ذكائية مدربة على مليارات الصفحات. لم تعد المعرفة نادرة، بل مفرطة. ومع هذا الفائض، بدأت قيمتها الحقيقية تتآكل.
أبسط المفاهيم الاقتصادية تقول إنه: كلما زاد المعروض من سلعة ما دون زيادة مماثلة في الطلب، تنخفض قيمتها. والأمر نفسه ينطبق على المعرفة. فالمعلومة لم تعد ميزة، بل القدرة على تمييز المعلومة وتأطيرها وتوظيفها. في السابق، كانت الخبرة نتيجة سنوات من التراكم والعمل، أما الآن، فقد أصبحت قابلة للتوليد الآني.
هذا التحوّل يهدّد بنى اقتصادية تقليدية عديدة، مثل الاستشارات، التعليم العالي، الصناعات الإبداعية، وحتى منظومات براءات الاختراع. في وقت سابق كانت المعرفة هي العملة الأغلى، أصبحت الآن متاحة للجميع، وبالتالي لم تعد كافية لوحدها لتوليد العائد. التأثير لا يقتصر على القطاعات فقط، بل يتعداه إلى الأفراد. فالعديد من الوظائف التي تقوم على المعرفة العامة مثل الترجمة، الكتابة، التحليل الأساسي تواجه خطر التهميش أو التراجع في الأجور. وفي المقابل، ترتفع قيمة مهارات مثل التفكير النقدي، الإبداع الحقيقي.
قد نصل إلى نقطة نحتاج فيها إلى ما يشبه بنك مركزي للمعرفة؛ جهة تنظّم هذا التدفق، وتُعيد تعريف الجودة، وتمنح الاعتماد والقيمة لما يُنتج من معرفة بشرية في ظل الفيض الاصطناعي. ليس الغرض الحجب أو المنع، بل إعادة ضبط العلاقة بين الإنتاج والاستهلاك، بين الكمّ والنوع. إننا لا نعيش فقط ثورة صناعية رابعة، بل لحظة تعاد فيها صياغة القيمة ذاتها. الذكاء الاصطناعي لم يخلق فقط اقتصاداً جديداً، بل أزمة هوية معرفية هزّت أسس القيمة نفسها. والسؤال لم يعد: ماذا تعرف؟، بل: ما القيمة الحقيقية لما تعرفه؟ وهل يمكن الوثوق بمن ينتجه؟
في النهاية، التضخم المعرفي قد لا يُقاس بالنقاط، بل يُقاس بتآكل المعنى، وضياع التميز البشري وسط سيلٍ لا ينضب من القول الذكي المتكرر.
تابع قناة عكاظ على الواتساب
Every time the term "inflation" is mentioned, attention turns to central banks, interest rates, and commodity markets. However, there is a new type of inflation that is not often discussed and does not appear in price or consumer indices. It is "cognitive inflation," resulting from the explosion of artificial intelligence, especially since the arrival of large language models like ChatGPT into the global knowledge production arena.
We have entered an era where knowledge is produced in vast quantities and at almost zero cost. Thousands of analyses, memos, presentations, plans, and strategies are written and generated in seconds, not by humans, but by AI models trained on billions of pages. Knowledge is no longer scarce; it is excessive. With this surplus, its true value has started to erode.
The simplest economic concepts state that: whenever the supply of a good increases without a corresponding increase in demand, its value decreases. The same applies to knowledge. Information is no longer a privilege; rather, the ability to discern, frame, and utilize information is what matters. In the past, expertise was the result of years of accumulation and work, but now it has become instantly generable.
This transformation threatens many traditional economic structures, such as consulting, higher education, creative industries, and even patent systems. Previously, knowledge was the most valuable currency; it is now available to everyone and, therefore, is no longer sufficient on its own to generate returns. The impact is not limited to sectors alone but extends to individuals as well. Many jobs based on general knowledge, such as translation, writing, and fundamental analysis, face the risk of marginalization or declining wages. In contrast, the value of skills such as critical thinking and genuine creativity is rising.
We may reach a point where we need something akin to a central bank for knowledge; an entity that organizes this flow, redefines quality, and grants accreditation and value to what is produced from human knowledge in the face of artificial surplus. The aim is not to withhold or prohibit, but to recalibrate the relationship between production and consumption, between quantity and quality. We are not only experiencing a fourth industrial revolution but a moment where value itself is being redefined. Artificial intelligence has not only created a new economy but has also sparked a cognitive identity crisis that has shaken the very foundations of value. The question is no longer: What do you know? but: What is the true value of what you know? And can we trust those who produce it?
In the end, cognitive inflation may not be measured in points, but rather in the erosion of meaning and the loss of human distinction amidst an unending torrent of repetitive intelligent discourse.
We have entered an era where knowledge is produced in vast quantities and at almost zero cost. Thousands of analyses, memos, presentations, plans, and strategies are written and generated in seconds, not by humans, but by AI models trained on billions of pages. Knowledge is no longer scarce; it is excessive. With this surplus, its true value has started to erode.
The simplest economic concepts state that: whenever the supply of a good increases without a corresponding increase in demand, its value decreases. The same applies to knowledge. Information is no longer a privilege; rather, the ability to discern, frame, and utilize information is what matters. In the past, expertise was the result of years of accumulation and work, but now it has become instantly generable.
This transformation threatens many traditional economic structures, such as consulting, higher education, creative industries, and even patent systems. Previously, knowledge was the most valuable currency; it is now available to everyone and, therefore, is no longer sufficient on its own to generate returns. The impact is not limited to sectors alone but extends to individuals as well. Many jobs based on general knowledge, such as translation, writing, and fundamental analysis, face the risk of marginalization or declining wages. In contrast, the value of skills such as critical thinking and genuine creativity is rising.
We may reach a point where we need something akin to a central bank for knowledge; an entity that organizes this flow, redefines quality, and grants accreditation and value to what is produced from human knowledge in the face of artificial surplus. The aim is not to withhold or prohibit, but to recalibrate the relationship between production and consumption, between quantity and quality. We are not only experiencing a fourth industrial revolution but a moment where value itself is being redefined. Artificial intelligence has not only created a new economy but has also sparked a cognitive identity crisis that has shaken the very foundations of value. The question is no longer: What do you know? but: What is the true value of what you know? And can we trust those who produce it?
In the end, cognitive inflation may not be measured in points, but rather in the erosion of meaning and the loss of human distinction amidst an unending torrent of repetitive intelligent discourse.
