The cost of information

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Learning takes a great deal of time and energy, and we are hardwired to be pro energy-saving.

To learn, we need to spend resources in the present to absorb, process, and maintain information. It is then not immediately obvious when, or if, we will use that information in the future.

Most of our actions and decisions are the culmination of learning compounded over years. The end result seems automatic. Retrospectively pointing to the pieces of information that contributed to our wisdom is almost impossible, as is the information we might be missing to make better decisions in our uncertain future.

We tend to respond when we feel we need to take action - and it is often late.

We've been told that information is power. The promise of AI is the power of supercharged information at our fingertips. We might delight in this prospect, of all the time and energy we save in needing to learn.

The cost is surely the deterioration of the tool that we need to make instinctual decisions - our mind.