The hour of decision is coming. If you haven’t picked out a god to worship yet, you might want to consider Lord AI.
Get comfortable with the fact that artificial intelligence (AI) is based on probabilities, not certainties. The probabilities are used for predictions that get better with the data collection, coordination and analyses.
For instance, if you ask Lord AI to define “central,” it will crunch a bunch of data really fast and fancily and give you a best guess. Sometimes there’s a high probability that a definition is spot-on, and sometimes the results are terrible … for now.
You have to be patient with Lord AI as it learns to render stronger and stronger probabilities for increasingly accurate predictions. That’s what Lord AI does so well: it learns. And a proper worshiper of AI must learn to exchange certainty for probability and to exercise faith in the promise of numerical power.
Here is a question AI can answer: What clothing will you pick out today?
The amount of information required for a good prediction depends on the quality of the data you put into Lord AI. You can’t just expect it to know everything. Among many other things, Lord AI needs data pertaining to your moods and habits; your fashion likes and dislikes; preferred colors and color combinations; who you will be with; what you have done on previous Thursdays and on each of 1,000 days before Thursday; where you’re going that day and why you’re going; anything you’ve written on social media relating to what you’ll do on that day; and anything anyone else has written on social media about you, about that day and about anyone else who is discussing or going to wherever you are probably going to go.
That data alone is standard fare for business intelligence and Big Data. Artificial intel goes farther in how it “thinks” about it. Some creators of artificial intelligence want us to believe the god they’re creating is not programmed, but rather is learning on its own. They think they’re providing Lord AI with a kind of starter bread dough. Put certain information in there just right, and it’ll take off and do its own thing, passing judgment on whatever its creators put in it and improving its own programming as it goes.
There’s no question that a machine can predict what you’ll wear or that a close friend can predict whether you’ll lock your keys in the car. But how much do you trust in Lord AI to look out for the best interests of you and the rest of the world? The decisions of any intelligence based on probabilities will change with the information it consumes and the weight it places on each bit.
One result is that human behavior becomes probably wrong or right — which is equal to sufficiently wrong or right, based on Lord AI’s confidence in the predictions. A second result is that individuals are known more and more intimately by the data that is constantly collected on them, supposedly to their benefit and society’s. The majority will exchange their personal information for access to devices and programs that make their lives easier for now.
Is Lord AI a good enough god for you?
Max T. Russell of New Palestine writes for the international business intelligence and nonprofit communities. Send comments to [email protected].
