Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come a long way since its inception (what you are using nowadays is based on work people like me did … 30 years ago when it wasn’t considered as part of A.I), and we often hear debates about whether it can replace human decision-making. However, renowned researchers Daniel Kahneman and Antonio Damasio have proved that the decision process requires a specific ingredient AI cannot have … Yet.
You see, decision-making isn’t just about logic or reasoning. Emotions play a significant role in it too. And that’s where AI falls short. While AI can process vast amounts of data, it cannot feel emotions like humans can.
To make decisions like humans, AI would need to experience emotions in the same way we do. That means having a subjective experience that is tied to specific emotions, memories, feelings. But how do you program something like that? It’s not easy, at least non has figured it out yet.
In his book “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” Kahneman explains that our brains have two systems for processing information: System 1 and System 2. System 1 is fast, automatic, and emotional, while System 2 is slow, deliberate, and logical. Both systems work together to help us make decisions and very often, most of the time in fact System 1 wins.
Damasio, in his book “Descartes’ Error,” argues that emotions are necessary for decision-making because they provide the brain with a way to prioritize information. They help us determine what’s important and what’s not, at a very personal level, and they motivate us to take action. Without emotions, we would be lost in a sea of information, unable to make sense of it all. Not analyse it, but making sense of it! Am I making myself clear here?
So, while AI can process information at lightning speed, it lacks the emotional intelligence that humans possess. It cannot prioritize information, and it cannot feel motivated to take action based on emotions. Therefore, it cannot make decisions like humans do.
While AI is undoubtedly a powerful tool, it cannot replace human decision-making as it cannot have emotions. Who knows what the future holds, but for now, let’s embrace AI as a helpful tool, but not a replacement for human Decision-Making.
