One of the more profound biases we have when it comes to our technology is just how stupid we can be. Ignorant, too, because we often forget just how little we know in the grand scheme of things which is well beyond our sight at any time, no matter how well informed we are.

It’s the Dunning-Kruger effect at levels depending on which mob we talk about and what that particular mob is made up of. Are they more open minded than close minded? Are they open to surprises?

We always end up surprised by something, and that’s a good thing. We don’t get new knowledge without being surprised in some way.

To be surprised means that something has to come leaping out of the dense grass of our biases and attacks us or helps us in some way. Surprise is important.

Personally, I like being surprised because it means something is new to me.

I’m not writing about a chocolate cake lurking in the dark room, I’m writing about expecting a result and getting something different, though exploring a new chocolate cake is also something I don’t mind. No, what I’m writing about is that unexpected outcome that has you wondering why it was unexpected.

That leads us to find out why, and that’s where we get new knowledge from. Asking the right questions.

It occurs to me that in creating this marketing of ‘artificial intelligence’ that we’ve created idiots. I thought we had enough, but apparently we need more. They don’t ask questions. They are better informed than our idiots, mind you, but someone gets to pick what distilled learning model they’re informed about.

I call them idiots not because they give us answers, sometimes wrong, but because they don’t ask questions. They don’t learn. We have a fair amount of systems on the planet we created that are in stasis instead of learning, and we’ve added new ones to the list.

I expect the marketers will send out a catalog soon enough of dumb systems marketed as smart technology.

Meanwhile, new generations may forget questioning, and that seems like it’s something we shouldn’t forget.