When Winston Churchill, still young, had just delivered his debut speech in the House of Commons, he went to ask an old parliamentarian, a friend of his father, what he thought of his first performance in that assembly of politicians.
The old man put his hand on Churchill's shoulder and said, in a paternal tone:
- "My young man, you made a serious mistake. You were far too brilliant in this first speech of yours in the House. That is unforgivable. You should have started a little more in the shadows.
You should have stumbled a little. With the intelligence you showed today, you must have made at least thirty enemies. Talent frightens people."
There was one of the finest lessons anyone could give to someone starting a difficult career. A good portion of the people who hold prominent positions and who are connected to power are mediocre and have an undisguised fear of the intelligence of others.
If this happened in England, imagine here in Brazil. It is worth recalling the famous quote by Antonio Aleixo: "There are so many fools commanding intelligent men that sometimes I find myself thinking that stupidity is a science."
There is no way to claim that stupidity could be a science, but in our times intelligence has become an important pillar of computer science. But what exactly is the much-discussed Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Is it merely the capacity for systematic repetition of algorithmic conclusions that determine a solution, or is it in fact the replacement of human intelligence, and therefore the remedy against our ever-present careless actors?
Although there is no uniform definition, it is generally understood that AI refers to "a machine that responds to stimuli in ways consistent with traditional human responses, given the human capacity to perceive, judge, and act. These software systems make decisions that typically require in-depth analysis, grounded in historical data, with the ability to establish patterns across vast amounts of information, helping to predict problems or resolve those that arise. They therefore work in a constant, intelligent, and adaptive manner according to the situation.
At this point, we recognize that AI has enormous potential to simplify our lives and clarify situations that would otherwise take us an eternity to assess. The combination of AI with IoT (Internet of Things) will soon make this benefit widely available and place this capability in our hands, even for routine activities.
Artificial intelligence is already changing the world and raising important questions for society, the economy, and governments. If we already had access to a great deal of information, we now have a greater capacity to select and compile information in an even more productive way.
I will not go into the merits of things that are already becoming reality and that would have seemed surreal not long ago, such as autonomous cars that know where to go and how to get there on their own. This is proof that what we are seeing from AI is only the beginning of a future we are not even capable of fully imagining. I feel as though I were in 1970 and someone were trying to explain to me the potential of the Internet. It is hard to predict everything that is still to come.
One thing is certain. Intelligent people will continue to exist and will know how to make the best possible use of all this technological apparatus, while the less intellectually inclined will continue to disregard intelligence. Nothing will satisfy those who habitually dismiss the results and capabilities of others, whether that other is a person or a machine.
I will even admit that, in general, mediocre people tend to be more determined in pursuing positions. They know how to occupy the empty spaces left by talented but careless individuals who do not show the right appetite. Another notable skill of those not chosen for their intelligence is the habit of protecting their acquired positions with walls of granite through which the talented and intelligent cannot pass. Technology is also a victim of this protectionist strategy. How many times have we heard that famous line about things not being made the way they used to be? My answer is simple: it is a good thing we are not doing things the way we used to, and that today there are far more promising paths.
Unfortunately, we have to live by these absurd rules that turn technological advancement into a kind of flaw in the eyes of the world.
Today, the ability to sometimes appear less intelligent or restrained in one's positions is the greatest proof of emotional intelligence. This is the path Artificial Intelligence is taking, because in this regard it is more intelligent than human intelligence. It knows how to enter our lives in a discreet way, without confronting wary human minds. That way, people do not perceive it as a threat, and they will have no grounds to defend their jobs and current positions. If we are already on track to see brilliant minds replaced by artificial intelligence, imagine what we can expect to happen to those who fight against it.
So, there is no way around it. The most intelligent advice in this case is to keep learning and to align yourself with all these new developments.
