Fernando CelisMaster Certified Coach empowering high achievers / Potenciando tus atributos como Coach

AI: Printing Press Fears and Leonardo's Curiosity

18 May 2026 · 4 min

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4:03

In this talk, Fernando Celis draws a parallel between the panic that surrounded Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press in the 1440s and today’s anxieties about artificial intelligence. He argues that, just as the press ultimately sparked the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution, AI will reshape human consciousness, but the key is to preserve what makes humanity irreplaceable. Celis positions coaching as a vital antidote to the chaos of this era, emphasizing its proven business value—citing firms like BetterUp, Ezra Torch, and Bonham Coaching that invest heavily in coaching to boost KPIs, OKRs, and workplace culture. He uses the metaphor of a lizard shedding its tail (drawn from a Genesis‑inspired song) to illustrate a fundamental shift in consciousness. Celis also invokes Leonardo da Vinci’s habit of asking 100 questions each morning, urging coaches and leaders to adopt a stance of wonder and relentless curiosity toward AI, their craft, and their clients.

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This— these claims happened in 1440 with the printing press of Johannes Gutenberg. Those were the claims, exact same claims. In fact, there was one that said, "The printing press will kill the word." That's what they said. That it was going to kill the word. Yet the printing press ultimately ignited the Renaissance, accelerated the Scientific Revolution, and transformed human consciousness forever. And people were freaking out when they discovered that you could write a Bible and everybody could come in contact with— oh, they said that the monks were gonna go out of business. You know, the monks. The monks are still around. So if we look at coaching, we're seeing practically an antidote for insanity in our times because we are not living in an era of change. This is a change of era. I mean, the lizard is shedding its tail. That's a metaphor that Genesis, uh, uses in a song called Watcher of the Skies that has to do with the expansion of consciousness of man. He doesn't say that humans evolved. He says the lizard shed its tail. That's why I use it in my logo. It's a symbol. We're living in a change of moments, of era. Of moment. And we're here at a crossroads, at a crossroads where it's not about competing with AI. That, that's, that's just madness. I mean, AI is a machine. Uh, it's about remembering what makes humanity irreplaceable. And in terms of coaching, In companies, in organizations, you know, if you guys are in BetterUp, Ezra Torch, Bonham Coaching, companies focus on achieving better results, driving KPI or OKRs. You know, companies pay us for achieving results, hundreds of thousands of dollars for coaching. Because they know it improves the bottom line and improves workplace culture. But the real challenge for us is, okay, to support both the goals of the organizations. Yes, your people are going to sell more, but we also confidentially— and this is why I believe that coaching is like It's like, I don't know how businesses accepted it. It's because it works. Leonardo da Vinci quoted, "To live is to remain in a state of wonder and questioning." That's Leonardo da Vinci. He would ask questions. They say that he would ask 100 questions every morning. Questions to program his brain for what was going to be done during the day. And as coaches, I ask you to be curious today and curious about AI and very curious about our craft and our clients.