Historically and, dare I say, academically, thinking was logically sequenced:
- identifying problems,
- gathering information,
- seeking alternatives,
- consideration and
- selection prior to decision.
In modern times many have handed over their thinking to technology. Algorithms automate the process and simply direct the human to the ‘answer’.
Beware my friend, the robots are hungry and want this power.
Try typing ‘how’ or ‘what’ into your search engine, and I’m sure the helpful gremlin will even start guiding you to the information you should be searching for.
Using a guest browser, my input of the word ‘how’ was quickly auto completed with ‘how long does COVID last?’, followed by ‘how long does cooked chicken last in the fridge?’. In case you’re wondering, COVID-19 symptoms generally last up to 2 weeks and cooked chicken will last 4 days in the fridge.
Now, let’s cycle back to before the prevalence of robotic assistance. What would I do if I was considering eating some chicken from the fridge that I had cooked a few days prior?
I guess I would probably have to take a slightly more scientific approach – starting with the smell test, then tasting a piece (or asking my partner to taste a piece)… I did say slightly more scientific.
Either way I would arrive at a conclusion using the facts at hand and a degree of reasoning: if the chicken smelt foul (dad joke), I’d avoid it. However, in today’s world I’m guided by the robot, so would I eat 3-day old chicken that smelt bad? Who do I trust, myself or the robot?
It’s sad, but honestly, I feel we are delegating more and more of our thinking and decision making. ‘In search we trust’. So, we eat the chicken, get sick and blame the advice.
Quick story: in 2012 three tourists tried to drive from the Queensland mainland across 15 kilometres of ocean to North Stradbroke Island, simply because the GPS was telling them they were on a road. The story ends with their car under 2 metres of water and a $1,500 insurance bill. The surviving tourists couldn’t understand how this happened as the GPS ‘told us we could drive there’. Trust me, if you’re in need of some comical relief, there’s an A Current Affair video floating around on YouTube.
As project managers our role is to think, critically assess and be judicial in our decision making; to seek options, use first principles and use fact.
Yes, there are times when knowledge is outside our reach, and we have to rely on technology to guide us. But for heaven’s sake, look out the windscreen and activate your own processing power before driving into the ocean, even if you are impaired from the bad chicken you ate the day before.
