AI - The Kirk/Spock Dilemma

There is much fear and hype about Artificial Intelligence and what it will mean for the future. This is partly because people are trying to sell you some magic beans, and I hate to say it, but many technologists love, hate, or are ignorant of the technology itself.

This article explores the difference between human and artificial intelligence, why neither can replace the other and how they can best work together.

The Beauty of Illogical Human Intelligence

We may be proud or desire to be data-driven and logical, but that differs from how we think. As a species, we are used to taking information from all of our senses, adding in our instincts and emotions (like fear), with a dash of the historical context, creativity, and morals, to come up with an intuitive conclusion. Being "data-driven" is more about proving our "gut" conclusion.

There is a good reason why we think this way. Consider if you were a caveperson walking down a path at night, smelled something odd, saw some leaves rustling, and heard growling. Most likely, you would run away to avoid being eaten.

This was great for survival, BUT we no longer live in caves! We are good at organizing, compartmentalizing, and quickly making decisions with too little information, but we could be better at rapidly processing accurately large sets of data.

So, what is the strength of human intelligence:

• Empathy: Nurturing connections and understanding the working team's and stakeholders' multifaceted needs.
• Creative Ingenuity: Out of the box, novel solutions and innovative approaches.
• Moral Compass: Humans can help drive the moral and ethical context.

For those who like Star Trek, consider this the "Kirk" thinking model. It is great for action, working in teams, and experimentation, but it needs to be precise, quick, and accurate, or mistakes will be made. Human Intelligence strength is the depth and flexibility of thought that extends far beyond mere logic and processing.

The Mechanical Perfection of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is all about mechanized intellect and efficiency. Modern AI systems are so complex that they can emulate emotional tones and appear creative, but they don't understand either or have a moral compass. They can look at data and see patterns a human may ignore, but since they don't understand, the patterns may be nonsensical or non-actionable.

If we return to my Caveman example, an AI would not "run away" unless provided with many examples of that being the right (or less wrong) solution. Artificial Intelligence works based on patterns observed, and what it has been taught is the best result.

Unlike humans, Artificial Intelligence has one sense: data. With complete, accurate, categorized, relevant, timely, and normalized data, the results will be correct; otherwise, they will be inaccurate, skewed, and biased. Based on the data it is fed, AI can be an echo chamber, happily confirming what you already think you know and making mistakes quicker and faster than a human.

Still, there are many advantages to this style of thought:

• Precision and Accuracy: Attaining levels of perfection in tasks, mitigating human errors.
• Efficiency and Productivity: Amplifying production capacities, reducing time and resources expended.
• Data Mastery: Analyzing and synthesizing colossal data streams, optimizing decision-making processes.

Back to Star Trek, consider this the "Spock" thinking model. It is precise and accurate based on the data available. It can draw patterns and connections from the data that a human wouldn't even think of, but without feelings and context, it may be wrong. For example, in the episode “The Galileo Seven,” Spock decides that firing warning shots will cause some aliens to run in fear. Instead, the aliens attack in anger, killing another crew member.

The problem here is how AI thinks and how people THINK AI thinks. Cigna, Humana, and United Health Group are facing class action suits about using Artificial Intelligence in coverage decisions. All three claim that the tools are just providing information to clinicians who are involved in the decisions, BUT if those clinicians think AI is more intelligent than they are, fear consequences from not accepting the "recommendations" or face other pressures (like performance targets), deferring to AI is the easy path.

The Harmonious Fusion: Balancing Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence

The best future is one where human intelligence is augmented with artificial intelligence. Like a person who rides a horse, it is the blending of the two that harnesses the strengths and compensates for the weaknesses of the other.

Consider:

• Emotional and Logical Harmony: Where human emotional and moral intelligence complements artificial analytical and procedural prowess.
• Collaboration in Innovation: Humans and AI experimenting together. More data can be processed quicker, hypotheses can be discarded faster, and new avenues of investigation can be found.
• Ethical and Efficient Production: Combining the knowledge of people, feelings, and emotions while harnessing the efficiency of AI.

Nurturing a Future Where Humans and AI Coalesce

The future is not an either/or proposition.

Human intelligence has brought us this far, and in the last 30+ years, it has been significantly augmented by technology. Up to this point, however, technology has only been a tool directed by human intelligence.

With Artificial Intelligence's data processing capability, however, we can now automate low-judgment tasks, and by combining human and artificial intelligence with quality data, we can make more accurate predictions of the probable future and prescribe actions to maximize the outcome.

Human ingenuity combined with data-based logic is a powerful combination, and, back to Start Trek, why the combination of Kirk and Spock's thinking is powerful to any organization.

The time to start is now. Getting good-quality data will take some time, but there is value to be had today. Building Your AI Strategy and Roadmap discusses how companies can quickly get value out of AI while building the foundation for tomorrow!