Can technology make us better decision-makers?
You’ve sent your last Slack message and settled onto the couch to unwind, remote in hand. Netflix’s expansive library greets you from the screen. All you have to do is push play, but there’s a problem. You don’t know what you want to watch and the idea of spending the next 20 minutes scrolling through options has already left you exhausted. That’s when you spot the “Top Picks for You” category. Choosing one of these titles would eliminate the need to figure out what’s appealing in a broader search. Netflix’s recommender system already knows your taste. Why not let it narrow down your options and curate an individualized selection? And while tech like this can undoubtedly alleviate the burden of choice in our increasingly complex lives, it also makes us wonder:
Is technology just supposed to make our lives easier?
The personalization capacities used by Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, or Facebook usually bring a sense of comfort to the decision-making process. It can feel almost impossible to make an unsatisfying choice if we get to pick from a pool that, most of the time, accurately favors our current habits. But the potential downside of this comfort is that it can inadvertently usher us into thought bubbles. If we use technology to help us make decisions by limiting our choices, we might create a loop of suggestions that confirms our preferences but also silos us from new experiences. At Quonder, we wonder whether technology can do the opposite. Can AI be used to inform our choices and help us make smart decisions, instead of making decisions for us?
If AI is already measuring our behavioral patterns, could it not support us by creating customized opportunities to develop essential cognitive skills, which would prepare us to thrive both in the workplace and in life? Quonder is focused on eLearning, a field where the use of AI is accelerating. Adaptive learning systems change a lesson’s content based on the individual learner. Consider the impact if these adaptive systems could free us from our familiar patterns and build personalized training programs to help us:
- increase sustained focus
- communicate with confidence
- collaborate effectively with teams
- draw strategic inferences from patterns of events
- resolve conflicts
- become active listeners
- and much more
Technology can offer ways to handle complexity, rather than avoiding it. Quonder harnesses the power of AI to provide exactly that type of support for every learner on their unique path towards growth. So stay tuned - we’re just getting started.