The unpredictable: Everything that technology wants and cannot control, the new book of Marta García Aller), reminds us that, although there are many attempts by technology to reduce the degree of uncertainty, reality is itself a non-linear dynamic system.
In other words: achieving a certain degree of control over something reveals to us that new oceans of uncertainty, either because this control produces unexpected side effects or because we are aware of more microcauses, inextricably connected to each other, that previously went unnoticed by us.
Algorithms
Marta's book has inspired us for some entries in Xataka Ciencia, When there is uncertainty, we become more nationalistic. We have also read you a small fragment so that it is clear how Marta weaves together striking and shocking curiosities to build her story.:
Marta has also been kind enough to respond to some questions that she addresses in one way or another in the book:
Do you think you are going to lose your job because of algorithms?
Any of us could lose our jobs, but it's not worth always blaming the algorithms. The machines are going to take care of the predictable, humans of everything else. But we are going to have to wake up to adapt to this change as quickly as possible.
It is urgent to reinvent ourselves for what is coming. The good thing is that artificial intelligence does not always take jobs away from humans, it also helps us find one. While I was writing 'The Unpredictable' I consulted with an algorithm that predicts what you will be when you grow up based on your own vocation and abilities. analyzing more than 3,000 professions that will be in high demand in the coming decades. It is designed to help teenagers who are looking for career guidance but also adults who want to reorient their career towards professions with a better future. In the book I tell in detail how I took the test and the report with my future jobs prepared by that algorithm suggested that I train to earn a living as a current technological and political analyst. They are professions that are going to be in high demand by companies between now and 2050 and, the truth is, I am very lucky because more or less I already dedicate myself to it as a journalist. He also recommended that I become a philosopher, which many people may not know but it is a profession with a great future in the era of algorithms. We are going to have to teach machines to act ethically and for that we humans first have to agree on what the hell that means.
The unforeseeable: Everything that technology wants and cannot control (Non-Fiction)
Are we going to get better?
Optimism can be a dangerous bias in times of pandemic. Believing that everything will turn out well can slow down the effort to adapt and, above all, to put in place the means to stop infections. For everything to improve, we need to invest much more in science and education. The future does not build itself. In 'The Unpredictable' I dedicate an entire chapter to how some algorithms endanger democracy because they polarize society. It is going to be increasingly difficult to know what is true and what is not, especially with deep fakes. And not being able to believe our own eyes requires a capacity for critical thinking for which we must begin to prepare.
Artificial intelligence is an extraordinary tool that will allow us to advance in many fields. Without a doubt, health is the highest priority and we are experiencing promising advances. It also raises challenges for privacy and security, and I look at those challenges with caution because it's urgent to start asking all those questions. What we do with algorithms designed to predict crime is no longer a science fiction question. It's happening. And that is why it is urgent to ensure that this technology helps us build a more just society and not a more unjust one.
What do you think has been the most positive innovation in recent years? And the most negative?
I think we have to get out of the Manichean reductionism of good and bad when we talk about technology. Artificial intelligence is an enormous advance that will transform daily life in all areas just as electricity began to transform it a couple of centuries ago. Advances in robotics are one of the most extraordinary innovations in recent years. And just as there is social robotics, which can allow everything from improving care for the elderly to helping in hospitals to prevent coronavirus infections, there are also 'killer robots' or killer robots that are programmed for war and are a threat that needs urgent regulation. But good and bad are human concepts. It is our task to manage these innovations so that they are beneficial. In 'The Unpredictable' I dedicate an entire chapter to human stupidity, which is what is truly dangerous for the future..
Do you think we are becoming ideologically polarized?
Definitely. There is increasing polarization and it has a lot to do with how we inform ourselves through social networks. If the algorithms are created to make visible the most striking content that generates the most interactions, whether true or false, instead of the most relevant, the consequence is that we have a society that is increasingly less informed and more biased because it only consumes content that gives it the reason or they irritate you a lot. It is important to get out of the echo chamber and be aware of that bias.
Plurality begins by looking for diversity on our screens and also turning them off from time to time. Twitter is not the real world. And the problem is that journalists and politicians sometimes forget this, as they allow themselves to be influenced too much by debates on networks where the polarized voices are the most visible, although not the majority. Polarization and populism also reappear in times of great uncertainty. And the uncertainty began long before the coronavirus arrived. It has a lot to do with the restlessness of not being able to imagine what future awaits us or what the world of tomorrow will be like. Populisms offer simple answers and when the brain looks for an Almax for so much uncertainty, it turns to the first solution that gives it respite. Even if it's not realistic. The new era of technical predictability is characterized, paradoxically, by an epidemic of uncertainty. The antidote is to get used to living surrounded by the unpredictable.
We like to have everything under control, but at the same time we want life to surprise us. There are algorithms to predict the weather, traffic jams and even love. There are those who compose music and paint pictures like those of Rembrandt. Some create fake news and others predict who we are going to vote for. The more we give power to machines, the more we worry about everything that is beyond their control. Why couldn't algorithms foresee the largest global pandemic? What aspects of our lives will artificial intelligence invade after the coronavirus? How much of what surrounds us will remain unpredictable? With humor and a critical spirit, journalist Marta García Aller immerses us in a fascinating search for what it means to be human in an uncertain world dominated by machines. The result is an essential book in which all kinds of witnesses of the unexpected appear. From mathematicians, epidemiologists and geneticists to linguists, lawyers and engineers. There is a three-year-old girl, several successful businesswomen and a Tinder flirt, along with neurologists, comedians and the occasional robot. Data, like oracles, are not always trustworthy and we often attribute more power to them than they really have, but both their successes and their errors will determine our future.
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The news
Books that inspire us: 'The unpredictable' by Marta García Aller
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.