Technology has been changing rapidly. More recently, technological change has been heavily driven by AI (artificial intelligence). Despite the rapid pace of change, however, the adoption of new technology does not completely eliminate the viability of older technologies.

In my previous writings, I have discussed how older technologies do not completely disappear if they still offer some benefit even after newer, and generally more beneficial, technology is available. For example, as online shopping became popular with the advent of better and more widely available internet technology, bricks-and-mortar retail did not completely disappear. Instead, bricks-and-mortar lived on because it still offered some useful benefits.

I have also written previously about why newer digital technology did not completely replace paper. Again, it is because paper can still offer benefits in some situations, despite digital’s widespread adoption.

More recently, however, we are seeing a seemingly unusual relationship between the latest new technology and the older, more outdated way of doing things. Instead of new technology leading to reduced use of the old way, today we are actually seeing the new technology in AI bringing about increased use of paper. Essentially, instead of the new replacing the old, we are seeing the new increasing the demand for the old.

This was discussed in the May 24-25, 2025 Wall Street Journal article ”The Old School Way to Beat ChatGPT“ by Ben Cohen. The article says, “Students outsourcing their assignments to AI and cheating their way through college has become so rampant.” A paper booklet, “called a blue book” is something “that helps professors ChatGPT-proof school.” The article goes on to say that these “inexpensive pamphlets of stapled paper have become a surprisingly valuable tool for teachers at a time when they need all the help they can get.”

As I see it, this is a good example of an old technology prevailing because it still offers benefits. In fact, the article makes this point when it says, “Demand for blue books is suddenly booming again because they help solve a problem that didn’t exist on campuses until now.”

So, in conclusion, new, more sophisticated technology does not always mean that older, more outdated ways of doing things will disappear. Often the older way will experience far less use, but may still prevail in situations where the old way continues to offer benefits. And, sometimes, as we see with AI and blue books, new technology can actually bring about an increase in doing it the old way.