We generally feel quite uncomfortable in an uncertain ecosystem. When we are not sure whether hard work will get us entry into a good university or promotions at the office. When we are driving within the speed limit on a road and suddenly a bullock-cart enters the road without light from the wrong side we just skip an accident. When people behave quite unexpectedly. When systems go haywire. When we get trapped in some phishing fraud. When people change their loyalties for petty benefits. All these situations make us uncomfortable.
On the other hand, robust systems make our lives easier and relaxed. For example when we are sure that only well-qualified drivers are on the roads. When we know that the reactions of society are quite sensible. When systems treat everybody with a reasonable degree of fairness. When there are no delays in justice. When an honest hardworking man is reasonably sure of getting fair opportunities. We are reasonably sure of not being cheated.
Systems make an effort to reduce uncertainties. For example, we make traffic rules, impose fines on the violates, install traffic lights, place policemen on the road, and install CCTV cameras and speed guns to check the speed of the cars to make the roads safer. Developed countries have been able to put in place many systems while developing countries have fewer systems in place. Does this mean that uncertainty has disappeared from the lives of people living in developed countries? Definitely no. Death is the biggest uncertainty. There are natural disasters everywhere. COVID-19 did not discriminate between the developed and the developing world. Earthquakes and Tsunamis also do not distinguish between the developed and developing world. However, better systems have more capacity to handle the crisis as well. However, uncertainties do remain despite the best of the systems.
So, there is a definite functional utility of systems provided the systems fulfill three fundamental requirements. First: systems have to fit into the time and space. Second: systems have to be dynamic. Third: people need to have awareness to handle the systems to the larger cause of life
Different time and space require different solutions. For example, in today's time more and more systems are being built around AI while a few decades back, most of the systems were manual. The systems have to fit into the space. For example, different countries of the world have different cultures, and systems are designed accordingly. For example, India has a system of driving left while Europe has a system of driving right-hand side and accordingly, the entire transportation system has to be developed accordingly. If systems do not fit time and space, they become obsolete and redundant very soon.
Systems have to be dynamic as well. Everybody has to learn to adapt to the uncertain world. The more aware we are, the better our perception of reality and the better we can tackle uncertainties. For example, if there is a fire in the building, the ones who are more aware will have better chances to survive. Our brain has an immense capacity to improvise on a real-time basis. The human mind has the capacity to improvise in those situations. However, some of the systems have relatively less capacity to improvise and that makes such systems irrelevant and redundant. For example, we get to know some of the funny instances in robotics and AI. Google Maps takes the cars to some water bodies or fields since the information system of Google is not updated with the terrain of some remote areas, or there is widespread apprehension about the behavior of the robots in real-life situations.
Systems have to be quite dynamic to be effective. They need to improvise quickly with the circumstances. Else they become redundant and become a barrier to efficiency rather than a facilitator. In order to be dynamic, systems also need to have eyes and ears and a self-correction mechanism. The irony is that most systems are manned by individuals and individuals develop interests in systems and therefore they become averse to changes in the systems. Slowly systems start working for a few individuals and systems themselves become unfair to most people.
At the end of the day, what matters most is awareness. Systems are like a knife. We may use them to kill somebody or cut vegetables and make our lives easier. For example, AI may be used by the kids to complete their projects and homework or it may be used by the students to make them understand the complicated concepts in a simple language. It all boils down to the individuals using the systems. The same democracy was used by Hitler to become a dictator. Rules may be interpreted to fulfill the greed of a few or for the larger benefits. The same systems may become the greatest facilitators as well as the biggest hindrance.
The formal education system is one of the biggest examples. It aims to impart different skills to the students to enable them to live a better life. However, sometimes the education system does not fit the time and space. For example, it fails to evolve with the developments in the world of technology, new discoveries in science, new laws and regulations, changing cultures in the corporates, new norms of the society, and changes in human behavior and then ends up more of a burden to the students rather than useful. It fails to evolve dynamically with the changing society.
Sometimes, the education system is quite dynamic and updated, however, the students lack a basic understanding of life. They make comfort and pleasure the center of their lives and use the education system to get a job to get a good package to live a comfortable life. The education system was developed to provide us with a skill set to evolve in life, to allow us to explore different fields of knowledge, and to develop curiosity in life, while we end up wasting our entire lives in the laziness of comforts and pleasures. It's like using AI to finish projects. AI has to be used to facilitate higher learning. We need to use the time and energy saved by AI for higher learning. We need to use the time and energy saved by every system, including the education system, for higher explorations. Comforts and pleasures are synonymous with death. Anyhow death is approaching us fast to give complete rest. Life is all about exploration. At the end of the day, till human beings do not understand the meaning of life, pleasure, and comfort will take over exploration, and systems will just be tools to provide more comforts and pleasures. It is only when human beings evolve to understand the meaning of life, that systems can help them explore and live a fulfilled life.
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