I think we can agree that data is a these days. It has been creeping up for a while now, but we have reached a tipping point where the storage technology, computing technology, and algorithms align to produce some awesome outcomes. big deal With the resurgence of the interest in artificial intelligence and automation, the talk around what machines can do for us is back on the table. And sure, machines and algorithms will change things a lot … but there are still humans and society. I remember the book I read not too long ago by two Xerox PARC alumni — . Simplifying and paraphrasing their argument liberally, they say that technology is certainly not a panacea and that whatever it is, it exists in the context of social relations. I can’t remember the exact way they phrased it, but my understanding is that while technology may automate or simplify a task there is still a whole ecosystem surrounding that one process or industry that requires people. I think the impetus for their argument was — don’t worry about computers taking our jobs! The Social Life of Information This is a recurring worry I think. A common point of discussion is whether computers and machines are going to “ ”. And I think yes they will — in only very specific areas. The idea of mass unemployment because of intelligent machines is a little too black and white. destroy our jobs just So instead I like to think of machines as . As an example, I really do think that these great breakthroughs will usher in technology that will enhance the performance of those in the health and medical sector. At the same time will become more pervasive. Technology will be relatable (thanks to natural language processing) and we will be the better for it — but not at the expense of masses of jobs. augmented intelligence virtual reality However, I think there something to this concern around job loss. But we could start by addressing this issue of . I don’t accept that we keep people (under)employed because the alternative is uncertain. It makes no sense to me — and I am sure the people these bullshit jobs would prefer to be anywhere else? So if technology can remove this aspect of the economy then our sanity is saved! Although, of course there is the question about where these (no longer)employed people go — what do they do? Perhaps there is something to the idea of a … quite controversial no doubt, but there are experiments underway so let’s see how that goes. is bullshit jobs in universal basic income While all this debate goes on, data continues to build. We have immense data centres of the stuff. And now we have machine learning — and it’s useful associate, deep learning. These algorithms — about which I am — are kind of magic. You feed them a massive amount of data, in a suitable way (a other discussion!), and — out comes predictions about what is going on with the data. Pretty simplistic explanation I agree, but the point is that throughout the process, the neural network is a type of meaning from data and either classifying or predicting on unseen data. The fact that could invent strategies no human could/would conceive of is instructive. It is possible we can uncover meaning and relationships in data that we didn’t even know was there. currently learning encode it whole voila extracting AlphaGo I haven’t even touched on all the social, political, and ethical issues all this raises. Even the ideas in this post can be unpacked into books! It is a very rich field of ideas. This was originally published in LinkedIn

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