Can AI replace human judgment?

Why AI needs human judgment to build a better future

We are living through an exponential change in our work. So profound that, in all likelihood, future generations will read about or watch our daily tasks in virtual museums and ask themselves, “How could they do this or that in that way?”

Whether we like it or not, this is how complex systems evolve. Our present is the result of many small changes that have been happening over time. And today, as participants in this stage of our existence, we can also contribute to a better future.

Does small mean irrelevant? No. But do you often think about the contributions of Archimedes, Mandela, Galileo, Curie, Gandhi, Ashoka, Turing or Gutenberg? Probably not. One day we will all be relevant in our irrelevance. And it is fine for it to be that way. Because the world is not about us. It is about how we serve the world.

Artificial intelligence is, and will be, extraordinary in helping society evolve in an exponential way. It will become more and more powerful, faster and more capable. It will help us make better decisions and free our creativity for new occupations. But there is one thing I am sure of, an AI will never be able to make decisions with human judgment.

A million years from now, no AI will be as incredible as the human brain. The machines of the future will be able to identify and learn patterns, analyze data and make decisions autonomously. But they will not have intuition, they will never have feelings or human judgment. They will not be able to be amazed by everything we cannot even explain or understand and that gives meaning to our life in this universe.

That meaning and judgment give relevance to our irrelevance. And with that judgment we will always govern what is artificial, to put our advances at the service of future generations, as we have already done, time and again, over thousands of years in the past.