Page 239 - Ray Dalio - Principles

soon be able to do this. Before too long, you will be able to tap
the highest-quality thinking on nearly every issue you face and
get the guidance of a computerized system that weighs

different points of view. For example, you will be able to ask
what lifestyle or career you should choose given what you’re
like, or how to best interact with specific people based on what
they’re like. These innovations will help people get out of their
own heads and unlock an incredibly powerful form of
collective thinking. We are doing this now and have found it
way better than traditional thinking.

While this kind of view often leads to talk of artificial
intelligence competing with human intelligence, in my opinion
human and artificial intelligence are far more likely to work
together because that will produce the best results. It’ll be
decades—and maybe never—before the computer can
replicate many of the things that the brain can do in terms of
imagination, synthesis, and creativity. That’s because the brain

comes genetically programmed with millions of years of
abilities honed through evolution. The “science” of decision
making that underlies many computer systems remains much
less valuable than the “art.” People still make the most
important decisions better than computers do. To see this, you
need look no further than at the kinds of people who are

uniquely successful. Software developers, mathematicians,
and game-theory modelers aren’t running away with all the
rewards; it is the people who have the most common sense,
imagination, and determination.

Only human intelligence can apply the interpretations that
are required to provide computer models with appropriate

input. For example, a computer can’t tell you how to weigh the
value of the time you spend with your loved ones against the
time you spend at work or the optimal mix of hours that will
provide you with the best marginal utilities for each activity.
Only you know what you value most, who you want to share
your life with, what kind of environment you want to be in,
and ultimately how to make the best choices to bring those
things about. What’s more, so much of our thinking comes

from the subconscious in ways we don’t understand, that
thinking we can model it fully is as unlikely as an animal that