The internet has revolutionized the way we find and sort information. What most of us don't realize is how it has affected the way we think, to the point where we are "infantizing" our minds.
Many of us have lost the ability to read deeply. Research that used to take us days of being holed up in a library is now available in neatly formulated abstracts at our fingertips. We quote and act upon internet extracted information without having a solid grasp of the underlying principals or the broader context. An especially dangerous undertaking in the world of investments. It's even argued that when we jump on the search engine, we are really searching for convenience rather than actual information.
This makes complete sense if you understand what the world's most powerful search engine--Google is trying to accomplish. Sergei Brin and Larry Page, the founders of Google, view working on a search engine as a way of working on artificial intelligence. Page was quoted last year as saying that Google "was really trying to build artificial intelligence and to do it on a large scale."
The more we rely on Google, the more we rely on artificial intelligence and less on our brains. Now, I am not suggesting a search engine boycott but I am contemplating a serious review of my work habits. Our challenge going forward is to continue to harness the power of enabling tools such as Google without impairing our ability to read and think.
The whole debate can be found here.
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Wouldn't it be strange if all those fantasies people have written about robot-controlled dystopias turned out to be about people who'd been re-programmed? I had a great conversation with a friend of mine in New York who was saying that having instant access to information means less time to step back and consider the secondary material around it... better for making snap decisions, but not good for actual thought.
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