Intel inside, idiot outside

Dec 14, 2012

Menno van Doorn

No matter how smart computers become, they still have to deal with people. Smart technologies inside computers and other devices, don’t necessarily mean we will live in smart cities. There are idiots outside computers, we can still screw up.

Stupidity has many faces. One of them is our unconscious decision making.  Not all unconscious decisions are stupid per se. We are “fools in love” but unconscious acts can lead to happy marriages. But the question for me is, should computers enhance and improve decision-making or automate decision-making. Stupidity included.

Enhance and improve means we should have a view on what the improvement should be like. That won’t be very difficult. But what should be the ideology for improving decision-making? Or should we accept our irrationality, even if it means we are using all earth’s resources (we don’t consciously kill our planet do we?)

You tell me.

Some food for thought in this video from David Ropeik, a specialist in risk perception. Risk perception and your irrational brain… Could Big Data improve, enhance and augment humanity without taking over our decision-making?

About the author

Menno van Doorn

Director and Trend Analyst VINT | Netherlands

Menno is Director of the Sogeti Research Institute for the Analysis of New Technology (VINT). He mixes personal life experiences with the findings of the 19 years of research done at the VINT Research Institute. Menno has co-authored many books on the impact of new technology on business and society.

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