Have
you ever wondered why no machines have actually been able to accurately predict
peoples’ actions? Forget machines; can people predict people? Are we such
difficult entities to be understood? Consider an analogy with a computer. The
brain has memory, and so does the hard disk. The CPU of a computer accepts
inputs and sends outputs like the brain. The processor can process multiple
inputs, and so can the brain. A computer can see, hear, speak, sing, walk,
think, and even teach us. Yet we can predict to what and how a computer would
respond (unless the computer goes rogue or is programmed to do so), but not how
a human would. You don’t actually agree with me, do you? How is it that you can’t
predict a person’s actions? Does the brain not send out a signal to eat when we
give it an input of hunger? Well, here is an input. If you slap a random person
walking on the road, how would he react? He might slap you back, or kick you harder,
or ask for an explanation, or someone else might answer you for him. “Oh no.
you can predict the output if you know what sort of a person he is”. Consider
him to be in a good mood. He might just stare at you and ask you for a reason.
The same guy, if in a bad mood, might disfigure your face.
There
are people who study patterns of thought and behavior. It is based on the
observations of people they have come across. What about the whole world of
people they haven’t come across? “Why talk about complicated stuff? I myself
can predict my close ones”. In spite of having known a person for ages, haven’t
you ever been taken aback by any of their actions? Once in an established
relation or an organization, it is the monotonous protocol or behaviour we
follow. It doesn’t mean we cannot deviate; it is just that we don’t want to
surprise others. It is this monotony that we recognize in others, that makes
them “seem” predictable. Though we might think our thoughts are unbiased and
our actions are spontaneous, it is true that our mind has us behaving the way
it wants, and not the other way. So atleast till we figure out molecular mechanisms
of memory and thoughts, I don’t think we can be predictable like most bots.
