AI Can’t Solve the ‘Wicked Problems’ of Central Planning

Joanna Andreasson/DALL-E4 discusses the concept of wicked problems, which are social issues that are difficult to solve due to their complexity. These issues have multiple causal factors, intricate interdependencies, and no clear way to test potential solutions. Examples of wicked problems include climate change, substance abuse, and economic performance. Despite advances in artificial intelligence, some social problems will remain wicked. The latest developments in AI, such as chatbots, have led to new capabilities in pattern matching. Pattern matching involves finding patterns in data to generate coherent responses. This technique is used in various applications, such as chess, loan underwriting, and image creation. Chatbots, like ChatGPT, have the ability to communicate in natural language, allowing for more human-like interactions. While chatbots can mimic emotional content and provide relevant responses, they may not have encyclopedic knowledge or wisdom. Despite the potential of AI, central planning for economic organization is still problematic. The decentralized nature of information in markets makes it difficult for a central computer to efficiently organize an economy. While new software tools can be used for economic simulations, they are not a complete solution to society’s wicked problems. The latest techniques in AI offer exciting capabilities, but they alone are not sufficient to solve complex social issues.

Source link