Augmented Intelligence

During the expert session, Michell Zappa engages the audience through storytelling, interactive discussions, and Mentimeter polls. He introduces the concept of Centaur thinking, where human intuition and machine intelligence collaborate for enhanced decision-making. Participants explore various industries' applications of this relationship and discuss different types of human-machine symbiosis. Michell emphasizes the importance of maintaining a balanced relationship with technology while recognizing cultural differences in technology usage.

• Discovering the Power of Centaur Thinking: Centaur Thinking, the collaboration between human intuition and machine data analysis, can lead to better results in various industries. By understanding how to leverage both human creativity and technological capabilities, organizations can optimize performance and productivity.
• Embracing Different Forms of Machine-Human Collaboration: Recognizing various forms of machine-human collaboration, such as mutualistic, parasitic, competitive, or commensal, is essential for prioritizing the most beneficial approach for your organization.
• Maintaining a Balanced Relationship with Technology: Establishing boundaries with technology and recognizing its impact on decision-making is crucial to prevent burnout and ensure effective use. Additionally, understanding that humans will continue to hold unique value in the era of increasing automation is important.

Michell shares a captivating story titled "The Age of Sun Towers," which highlights the evolution of human-machine collaboration through the lens of IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer defeating world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. Instead of competing against machines, Kasparov decides to collaborate and invent a new form of chess called Centaur Chess. This innovation combines human and machine intelligence, setting the stage for future collaborative advancements.

Michell explains that this session will focus on concepts related to future literacy - understanding the role the future plays in shaping the present. He terms this relationship between humans and machines as "Centaur," emphasizing collaboration and augmenting our capabilities rather than competition or superiority. Michell also introduces the importance of differentiating levels of certainty as we venture into the age of Centaur.

The session dives deeper into the concept of human-machine collaboration, exploring examples from various industries and contexts. Michell discusses Centaur thinking - a powerful approach that combines human intuition with data analysis. While gut feelings remain crucial for success, leveraging data points enhances decision-making and increases capabilities.

Michell provides compelling examples of this collaboration in football coaching, crowd control, and Formula One racing. Football coaches utilize algorithms to analyze game dynamics and player performance, while police leverage data for predictive analysis. In Formula One racing, different race strategies and sensor input are combined to make informed decisions about the game's outcome.

Michell also discusses how developers can harness the power of this Centaur approach, citing examples such as GitHub's Co-pilot or Amazon's fulfillment centers. In these contexts, human intuition and technological capabilities are seamlessly combined to yield better results.

Centaur thinking extends beyond software engineering, with historical applications like Cancun's location determination based on complex data points that a single human could not process alone. Centaur thinking is about augmenting human abilities with technology for improved performance and productivity.

Michell uses the concept of symbiosis from biology to describe different ways machines and humans can collaborate, such as mutualistic (beneficial), parasitic (resource extraction), competitive, or commensal (living together but not directly affecting each other). Participants are encouraged to consider which type of collaboration suits their organization best.

As the session concludes, Michell emphasizes that a computer is an extension of human capabilities and thinking, providing greater efficiency and enabling us to explore new possibilities. He encourages participants to think beyond what machines can do on their own and focus on how they can be combined with human abilities to create meaningful advancements.

Patterns of Technological Transformation

Finding certainty in uncertainty. Technology often seems unpredictable, but an understanding of the underlying patterns affecting its development allows us to predict more likely future scenarios. For example how accelerating change leads to unintended consequences beyond those originally designed for. Knowing these patterns helps us paint a clearer picture of the emerging future. In this session Michell takes you on a journey through the patterns of technological transformation.

 

Navigating the Future of AI

In this expert session, renowned AI researcher and thought leader Zappa discusses the current state and future implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Over the past few years, Zappa has dedicated significant time to studying AI from an augmentation perspective. He begins by sharing his perspective on the evolution of AI and the possibility that we may reach artificial general intelligence within the next thousand days.