How About Some Actual Intelligence?

It’s evident to anyone who has ever read a book without pictures, that the majority of world leaders are some of the most inept and corrupt people available from the 8.3 billion alive. There is a category of small-town fool that used to be the exception rather than the rule. Yet, here we are, all older, wiser, more politically aware of our choice of words and yet the United States is run by some of the most foolish people to self-identify as ‘leaders’. What I am always surprised by is the way that they are believed, followed and adored.

I know a number of you have enjoyed the deliberately slow pace of a barge holiday and some even own one, so I thought I’d share a true story that I learned recently which highlights the condition of blind faith.

A man had planned a family holiday on a barge, he had done some investigation into his route using ChatGPT (software) about the vessel, the route and the locks that he would encounter. He met with Ben, a young man who has been working on barges for some time and despite his youth was skilled in operating, maintaining and repairing a barge and was very familiar with the local canal network.

The man, wishing to display his newfound knowledge, asked about the route to the beautiful Roman city and drew attention to a stretch of five locks along the way. This seemed to make him anxious about the additional “work” and delay that it would cause him. Ben reassured him that it would take far longer, two days longer, to reach the first lock and this would be a small challenge, easily mastered and this would provide him ample confidence to tackle each of the remaining locks which were very similar and actually many hours and in some cases days apart.

He would not accept the young expert’s advice or reassurance, preferring to draw out his mobile phone and asking it for advice to go in the other direction. Ben listened, aghast at the nonsense that ChatGPT provided, listing obstacles and warnings that were in either in the wrong order or completely false. The man would not listen, choosing to rely on and believe the accuracy of his own ‘pocket expert’. Despite protestation and warning, Ben reluctantly bid him and his family farewell as they set off confidently in the wrong direction for their week long barge holiday.

In this age of individualism, it seems that many are happier turning to the ‘expertise’ of artificial intelligence, and placing a high degree of trust and confidence in the output. They fail to appreciate that artificial intelligence is largely pattern recognition software, cobbling together stolen (“scraped”) information from the web. We have begun to see the errors of this within financial planning already. Of misplaced faith in the ‘answers’ and lack of real understanding of the risks involved, creating a disastrous combination of confidence (and fear) in all the wrong elements. This is not simply going to create a minor delay or deviation, but a completely different result from the one intended, both much more expensive and disappointing.

Your financial plan is unique to you, based on your values, resources, skills and desired outcomes. This is what we have trained for, what we do all day long and have gained decades of experience at; meeting and helping countless people all trying to navigate their own financial journey. We may not be physically with you throughout every inch of your journey, but our skill is helping plot it, course correct, maintain and refuel, knowing when to put to harbour and when to set sail, to assess the conditions sensibly to minimise anxiety rather than to watch you head off in the wrong direction because of something you heard on the news, in the paper, online, in the pub or around your dining table or worse, from your phone. Beware of artificial intelligence, embrace and seek actual intelligence, or expertise, in a world that is complex.

References:

The Limitations of ChatGPT with Emily Bender: https://www.radicalai.org/chatgpt-limitations

The AI Con by Emily Bender: https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/ai-con-book-emily-m-bender-9781847928610

Canals of Britain: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/canals-and-rivers

History of Britains Canals: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/The-Canals-of-Britain/

Inland Waterways Charity: https://waterways.org.uk/about-us/the-charity

What is financial planning: https://www.solomonsifa.co.uk/what-we-do/

Refer us: https://www.solomonsifa.co.uk/refer-us/

World Population: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/