
In Part Three, The Future
of the Myth, I argue that the myth has
very bad consequences if taken seriously, because
it subverts science.
In particular,
it erodes a culture of human intelligence and invention,
which is necessary for the very breakthroughs we will
need
to understand our own future.
Data science (the application of AI to
“big data”) is at best a prosthetic for human
ingenuity, which if used
correctly can help us deal with our modern “data deluge.” If used as a
replacement for individual intelligence, it tends to chew up investment without delivering results. I explain, in particular,
how the myth
has negatively affected research in neuroscience, among other recent
scientific pursuits. The price we are paying for the myth is too high.
Since we have no good scientific reason to believe the myth is true,
and every
reason to reject it for the purpose of our own future
flourishing,
we need to radically rethink the discussion about AI.