We are living in an age where almost everything can be converted into data. Our choices are recorded. Our searches are recorded. Our conversations, purchases, movements, preferences and habits are recorded.
Computers can store this information indefinitely and process it in seconds. But there is one important question we should ask: Should we allow stored data to make our decisions for us? Perhaps this is where we need to rediscover what it means to be human.
A Computer Processes What It Is Given
A computer is extraordinarily powerful. Give it data, and it can compare, calculate, classify, identify patterns and produce an output. It can process millions of records without becoming tired.
But a computer does not create the meaning behind the data. It works with what has been provided to it. If yesterday's data says something happened ten times, a computer can identify that pattern.
But does ten previous occurrences mean the eleventh must be the same?
Not necessarily. The world changes. People change. Circumstances change. And human beings change.
Human Intelligence Is More Than Data Processing
Human intelligence has another dimension. We can look at information and ask: Why?
We can question the information itself. We can recognise that circumstances are different. We can consider emotions, relationships, consequences, ethics, experience and intuition.
Most importantly, we can say: "The data suggests one thing, but I need to think for myself."
That ability is precious. It is also becoming increasingly important.
The Danger of Making Decisions from Stored Data
Imagine someone has made a mistake five times. A system records those five events. Based on the stored data, the system may conclude that the person is likely to make the same mistake again. But what if the person has learned? What if the sixth situation is completely different? What if the person has acquired new knowledge, changed their behaviour or developed a new perspective?
Stored data describes the past. It does not automatically describe the future. This distinction is easy to forget in a world increasingly driven by algorithms.
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