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From 1665 to 2023, scientific journals have had four roles: registration, evaluation/certification, dissemination, and archiving of knowledge. Initially in Europe, journals were managed by learned societies. Over time, other players arrived: reviewers, editorial boards, women, commercial publishers, universities, evaluation agencies, new technologies, an author-pays business model replacing subscription, and more recently, mercantile publishers. Low-quality journals attract researchers by offering the chance to publish quickly and more cheaply than in legitimate journals. The powers that be have favored the “publish or perish” system, sending a message to researchers and journal editors: publish a lot and cite a lot of articles. Honest researchers have adopted dubious practices; published science no longer reflects the science done in laboratories. In 2023, articles have become electronic documents with supplements, moving images, podcasts, short video vignettes, URL links, data access, and open science requirements. Journals have changed with developing models: dataset journals, pre-publications, social networks, and Peer Community In Registered Reports. How will journals survive without learned societies in the face of threats to academic freedom and the arrival of artificial intelligence?