Computers and AI are useless!
That is indeed not a statement you would expect from me, knowing that I have spent at least 21 years of my career with great pleasure in IT. Most of this statement comes from Salvador Dali. Fortunately, he also explains it: ‘…. because computers (and AI) only give answers.’ I do agree with that!
Accurate and Inaccurate answers
Critical Thinking is the active and competent application of general thinking principles and procedures that promote truth or accuracy in judgment as much as possible. This also concerns the assessment of answers provided by AI. A frequently used principle when analyzing large amounts of data is that the answer does not always have to be accurate. Sometimes that is a good thing. In order to protect privacy, the identity of persons cannot (always) be revealed. When analyzing fraud or money laundering, on the other hand, it can result in an unnecessary waste of time if it turns out that it concerns an incorrectly generated indication.
The question with the answer
In addition to adequately assessing the answers, the next step is to formulate the follow-up question. In order to be able to draw a well-founded conclusion, it is also necessary to view the information from different angles. Each answer provided by AI should result in a follow-up question until sufficient and sufficiently accurate information has been collected to base your decision on. Formulating the follow-up question is the result of a structured thought process, and therefore human work.
Man and machine
Recently, much has been written about that AI would take over the work of many people and make them redundant. I also think differently about that. AI can only carry out orders, albeit very complex ones. Defining the question or the order (‘formulating the prompt’) remains human work. The same applies to assessing the answer or the execution of the order. And finally, formulating the follow-up question or order again. All human work and that requires a structured analysis and a well-founded thinking process. If that is lacking, AI is indeed useless, or even destructive. It also means that people and ‘critical thinking’ are crucial parts of working with AI!
Dali’s point
In my opinion, Salvador Dali really had a point here. And given the level of AI in his time, a visionary one at that. Although that is of course not really surprising given his creative and inventive mind. It also shows that the most groundbreaking innovations, as AI is now generally considered, are based on a combination of creativity and structured thinking.
AI only really delivers added value with ‘critical thinking’
AI is therefore indeed useless if the person is not able to properly define the question and assess the information provided as the answer. On the other hand, the AI will really deliver a lot of added value if the person using it is able to define the right follow-up question based on the information provided. And keeps repeating this in a structured way until the core of the case has been exposed. Finding the truth and judging it. The original and literal meaning of ‘forensic’. More about that in my next blog...
Want to know more about Critical Thinking and how to improve this skill? Click here!