Yuval Harari’s “Homo Deus” discusses the future implications of algorithmic advancements and the resulting surrender of personal information. As increasingly complex algorithms become more involved in our lives, we explore the possibility of a future where we unconsciously agree to provide information, and where disclosure becomes a given.

Introduction

Yuval Harari’s book “Homo Deus” stimulates the reader’s brain in many ways. As the book progresses, he paints an increasingly eerie picture of a future in which algorithmic advances, especially in artificial intelligence, begin to replace things that were once thought to be uniquely human, and in which we hand over all our data to algorithms and are eventually absorbed by them. Ideally, all data is open and free. But is this a realistic future? While this may seem like a far-fetched conclusion, this article will argue that a future where we give all of our information to algorithms is not impossible given the current state of affairs.

The ever-expanding information needs of algorithms

In order for humans to decide on an action, they need to make a judgment about that action, and that judgment is based on what they have experienced and learned. This sounds like a no-brainer for humans. But for algorithms, it’s even more obvious than it is for humans, because algorithms operate on the basis of extremely logical calculations and data. This is self-evident if we look at the concept of “function” as used in math and computers. A function F(x), given an argument x, can only return a function value that fits that input. So, a well-designed algorithm must be able to take the information it is given and use it to do what we want it to do properly. Algorithms that work to help humans would then be designed to ask for the information they need to help us.
For example, consider a service that provides diet and health information. The service will require information from you about your height, weight, eating habits, and preferences. If you don’t provide this data, the service won’t be able to provide useful information tailored to you.
But there’s a blind spot here. Algorithms are constantly evolving. The help they provide is getting better and better. Let’s go back to humans. It’s obvious that for a human to make more complex and deeper judgments, the amount and depth of information needed must also increase. The same is true for algorithms. In order to be better served by evolving algorithms, we need to provide them with more and different information.
The question is, how far will this go? As health information services evolve to store customer information and provide continuous recommendations based on big data and artificial intelligence over the long term, we will need to provide not only our identity and personal information, but also specific information about our private life and body to get the right results. There will certainly be people who will resist the idea of providing too much personal information in this situation.

Information Flying Over Our Consciousness

However, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that we already provide our private, intensely personal information in many places. Consider YouTube, the world’s leading video service. After just one week of using it, YouTube already knows our tastes. The recommendations tab is filled with content similar to what we’ve seen before, and videos related to what we checked “Not interested” no longer appear in our home list. In this way, we’re unknowingly providing our personal information to algorithms. This is the first key. Most of the time, the information we disclose to algorithms is something that we consent to, but most of the time it’s something that we do implicitly as we use the service. When have we ever asked a social network to ask, “What do you think of this post?” or Google Ads to tailor the annoying ads we see on a website to our tastes? It’s just the algorithm doing what it does based on the information it has. Before you know it, the algorithm already has the information. This shows that despite the myth that consent is required to disclose information, it is not a necessary step in the process of obtaining it.
Few people would disagree with the phrase “technology can’t keep up with the rabbit” from the book. However, as mentioned earlier, as algorithms evolve, the scope of information we have to provide will only increase. Will the infinitely expanding scope and speed of our information delivery become too difficult to reconcile with our decision-making? Even now, as in the examples already mentioned, we are unconsciously feeding information to algorithms (whether they are owned by companies or not). And more advanced algorithms are unlikely to change this situation much.

What if you can resist the tide of technological advancement and keep your information?

We’ve already seen that we’re giving away our information in exchange for good algorithms that make our lives easier. This is something that happens unconsciously. So let’s turn the perspective to the conscious level. If there comes a time when people are extremely conscious of disclosing this information, will they hesitate or even refuse to do so? Unfortunately, I don’t think so.
Algorithms are driven by human needs. We have an insatiable appetite for convenience, and when we use algorithms, we feel indescribable convenience. In the future, algorithms will be able to provide even greater convenience than they do today, to the point where it will be irrelevant whether people agree with the convenience or not, let alone how much they agree with it. The usefulness will be so great that it will eventually be taken for granted. If technological advancements are endless and people agree to provide information because they recognize its convenience and usefulness, then this perspective is self-evident.
Even now, if you want to sign up for a useful website, you can’t do so without agreeing to terms and conditions, such as providing your information. This doesn’t stop people from signing up, but it does mean that they will accept those terms and choose to sign up to receive the service. The future will be no different. As a society, we’re far more likely to provide information and become customers of algorithms instead of rejecting them, which will make our lives many times easier.

Conclusion

If the information that is released to algorithms is data that has found its freedom, then these algorithms will give even greater freedom to information as we become more globally connected. The idea of all information being open to the world is no longer an impossible reality. We may even come to the rather eerie conclusion that the only way to legally release and acquire everyone’s information is through technological advancement.