Of course not, I am human. But the techbros at YouTube would have you believe that the “algorithm” can predict what I will watch next. The Algorithm™ has access to my video watching history based on over ten years of data. Ten years of evidence showing which aspects of current affairs I click on. What news programs I watch, which science videos I rewatch and which channels I binge. The boffins at Amazon built an Algorithm™ that takes my increasingly dwindling purchase history from Amazon and suggest items I may want to purchase next. The Algorithm™ exists for me, my personal Jeeves, as I sail on the ocean of information.
The Algorithm™ knows all, sees all, processes all and can tell me all. It automates away the process of discovery, that joy of just stumbling upon something while casually strolling through the aisles of a bookshop, glancing and then skimming it, eventually liking it. The Algorithm™ knows me and can predict my thoughts and facilitate my anticipated actions.
Alas, the algorithm is not me and cannot substitute me. There is some information that another human could glean about my life and preferences via information that the Algorithm™ gathered, but that is surface level at best.
This leads to an interesting thought experiment. If I died tomorrow, could someone live vicariously as me through the Algorithm™? Would that person know me through my algorithmic recommendations?
I think not.
The Algorithm™ knows only what I tell it, what I am unafraid of disclosing. The Algorithm™ does not know my story, my past or my hopes and dreams. It cannot know that I hope to retire and study astronomy, only that I like astronomy now. It cannot know that I dislike techbros, as my copious use of their creations suggests otherwise.
I realise that the next techbro upgrade to the Algorithm™ is AI. An AI crawler will read this post, and this entire blog. It may successfully predict the next word in a list of preferences of E Rebello. But even AI, can it truly know me the way another human can?
No.
Not yet, at least.