Today’s business world is one that’s becoming ever more asymmetrical, as digital capabilities are rapidly outpacing our unenhanced human abilities.
Right now, computers are able to process more data in a single day than was likely processed by the totality of human minds throughout all of human history; quantum computers are just over the horizon, promising near limitless data collection and processing.
Our collective intellect has created machine learning that’s enabling us to strategize and analyze in near real time at a scale that cannot truly be comprehended; true artificial intelligence may soon allow computers to not only create but also enhance these capabilities without any human guidance at all.
What’s an individual to do? Or more to the point, what can a singular person do against this rising tide? If you fear becoming obsolete, your fear is not unfounded. If you do nothing, you’re almost certainly guaranteed to become a relic; you will become an artifact gathering dust in the collective consciousness.
Adopting New Technology
Prior to World War I, military superpowers such as Great Britain resisted adopting new technology such as the fully automatic machine gun because they were “unfair” and “ungentlemanly.” However, by the end of the war, these tools had become standard issue to every fighting force.However, it’s irresponsible to ignore the future simply because we prefer the way things used to be. There’s often objective strength in clinging to true and authentic tradition; there’s objective weakness in deliberately rejecting improvements in helpful technology and tools.
Even a “primitive” tool such as the hammer is actually a force multiplier. Imagine trying to build anything without a hammer: The undeniable truth is that you’re able to build bigger, better, and faster with this simple tool. This concept applies across all technological advances, whether they’re hand tools or algorithms.
When it comes to machine learning, that’s the equivalent of having an ever-expanding team of expert carpenters that learn how to build things more efficiently and at a higher quality every time they finish a structure.
Being able to process, segment, filter, and analyze data points across multiple key performance indicators at these speeds is nothing short of developing superpowers.
Still in Charge
When we allow these tools to do our thinking rather than empowering our ability to focus, we become distracted by noise rather than insights. When you have today’s processing powers at the literal touch of a finger, it’s easy to become convinced that having access to knowledge is the same as possessing this knowledge.For all of the distractions that come with our digital world, it’s intellectually dishonest to pretend that we would be better off as a society if electronic communication peaked with Morse code. Being able to communicate important messages at near the speed of thought is an amazing leap forward for humanity; thinking every message we send is important enough to require lightning-quick delivery is a weakness.
While artificial intelligence and machine learning allow us to explore data faster than at any other time in human history, it doesn’t make us omnipotent. The most urgent threat we face isn’t artificial intelligence reaching self-awareness and murdering all of humanity. It’s the slow death of passively accepting irrelevance instead of embracing the future.