What we can teach ourselves from Machine Learning
There are a lot of focus on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence at the moment. It really is an exciting and terrifying technology that is already influencing so much of what we do and know today; from algorithms that suggest what ads we see on websites to self-driving cars, and so much more. Exciting because the possibilities of what can be achieved is quite possibly endless. Terrifying for the same reason, and also that the long-term consequences of using this technology are still largely unknown. Does any of this remind you of something else? Something else that has a near-infinite capacity for doing good and/or evil? Something else that influences lives in significant yet unseen ways? Something else that has consequential actions which echo far beyond the here and now? I am, of course, thinking of human beings. More specifically, the human mind and heart. I'm sure you have heard the old adage "You can do anything you put your mind to." credited to Benjamin Fra...