Decision-making
Apart from removing bias, AI is also getting more creative. While creativity is needed in problem solving and decision-making, increasingly AI is not only becoming master but more creative, too. This is according to the new book of MIT Professors Brynjolfsson and McAfee, “Machine, Platform, Crowd.” AI can produce the future
best-selling novel and So, if all these prognostications point to a bleak future for human decision-making, what is there left for our species to decide about? What augurs well for us, humans, is that, generally, letting go of some decision-making remains a slow process. Humans are resisting to assign the more important decision-making to AI, probably for self-preservation. Brynjolfsson and McAfee sympathize by saying, “We appreciate that losing decision-making authority you once had is uncomfortable, and that no one likes feeling like a servant to a computer.”
kind of AI that we will see progress and grow is augmented intelligence, that is, an AI learning from human input, which in turn, can make more accurate decisions based on AI information. We already see this in commercially available software and analytics packages that help companies in marketing decision-making, customer relationship management, recommendation systems, and so on.
But in the next decade, we have to expect advances in AI will eventually replace most human decision-making activities, may it be in everyday life or in business. Hence, much of human decision-making will involve human interactions, behavior and emotions.
Empathy will be a critical skill in the future that will enable people make decisions based on recognizing emotions in others and being able to “put yourself in another person’s shoes” – understanding the other person’s perspective and reality. This will be important in making decisions that involve new products or services, in hiring and in building teams, in collaborating with others, and even in making AI and technology in general more human.
Decision-making with empathy will include three elements, such as listening – this is about taking the time to truly listen to each other; trusting – this is showing a belief in a person’s honesty or sincerity, through open communication and feedback; and understanding -this is about opening the mind and perceiving the feelings and intentions of others’ actions.
Decision- making in the future will be a combination of AI and humans. But the human element will be more about understanding behaviors and emotions. We should all be behaviorists in the future.