I think the future will be better than today. And today was better than the past.
I believe that we all want a better life. This pushes us to create a better life. In turn, this pushes humanity to have an overall better experience on this earth.
But sometimes we go through bad times. Like the current times. They are pretty bad and people are sad and depressed. But better times will come. Trust me. They always come. And overall things will get better. They always do.
But what about the impact of algorithms. How will they dictate our lives in 20-50 years from now? And will those algorithms improve our lives too?
I’ve been thinking about algorithms when it comes to insurance a lot lately since I bought a WowGo 3x Electric Skateboard. During the 30 km/ an hour ride to the office, I think about insurance and how real-time data will impact the insurance industry.
I believe we will live in a future where your monthly insurance payment is processed by the hour based on every micro decision you make in a day. The more risky decisions you take in a day the higher your cost of insurance will be.
In short, an algorithm will follow your every move to calculate the impact of your behaviour on your potential life expectancy in real-time.
Stay with me here. let’s take an example: Crossing the street. When you google: “How likely are you to die when crossing the street?” you get the answer: 1 in 300 million. This is a very small chance but it’s a statistic that can be used in an algorithm to calculate your life expectancy based on the number of crossings you make each day during your commute. Every small decision you make has an impact on your life expectancy.
So what if insurance companies required us to wear sensors that track our every move to see what micro-actions we take every single day.
When you track and collect all micro-actions, from using a ladder to fix a lightbulb, to crossing the street and even eating a cheeseburger, you could feed all that data into a real-time algorithm that would adjust its estimates of your current life expectancy based on your behaviour.
I’m oversimplifying a lot but you get the gist of it.
I’m just curious to think about the idea. And I’m also wondering if I would want to get reminders of changes in my statistical life expectancy from this algorithm?
I think I would feel very sad after a heavy night out when I get a notification that tells me that I just drank away 2 weeks of my life expectancy.
But now that I think about it, it would be a great nudge to become more healthy and to think about the real impact on my health. Especially when you get nudges by the algorithm ‘in the moment’.
For instance when the algorithm starts guiding you through safer routes to work based on the input that those routes mean fewer crossings and thus increase your potential life expectancy. Or the algorithm could tell you to choose a healthier meal at a diner.
It could even show the impact on your life expectancy beforehand. Let’s say when you’re browsing a menu in a restaurant. The algorithm would use a visual sensor to scan the meals and calculate what the impact of a 400 oz steak would be on your life expectancy.
It’s fascinating to think about a world that’s totally controlled by maximizing longevity as the end game for life. Longevity means an increased amount of potential experiences in your life. Who doesn’t want that?
Longevity would become the highest ladder that we as a species would want to reach in Maslow’s hierarchy (it’s not in there at this moment in time). After energy is free and food is free. What else do we want to chase? A long life is the only thing that’s left worth living for??
But, when longevity is the end game. Life will get very boring. No one will want to ride bikes, go on ski trips or ride horses. The risks you take will be calculated in real-time and these calculations will scare you away from a basic decision. Decisions you take every day and have taken multiple times today already.
It this truly a better future? I don’t know. The only thing I know is that your grandchildren will think you’re a badass for being able to steer your own car on the road in 2020. Good luck to you in the future. I hope the future is nice to you too.
