Liberty and Big Data is Watching You- Part 1

Sandeep Dutt’s Masterclass on Emerging Literacies

Discuss Chapter 3 of 21 Lessons for the 21st Century on Liberty and Big Data is watching you.

Key Takeaways

The “Human Hacking” Formula: The intersection of biological knowledge, computing power, and data (b x c x d = aah) enables algorithms to understand and manipulate humans better than we understand ourselves.

The Myth of Free Will: Feelings are not free will but biochemical algorithms for survival. This makes them hackable, undermining the liberal premise that individual feelings are the ultimate source of authority.

The Shifting Source of Authority: Authority is moving from divine law and human feelings to big data algorithms, which can make better decisions for us by overcoming human biases and lack of self-knowledge.

The Teacher’s Role: In this new reality, a teacher’s primary role is to be a thought-provoker, not an information processor, fostering critical thinking to help students navigate the influence of algorithms.

Topics

Review: The Future of Work (Ch. 2)

The previous session explored AI’s impact on work, including Universal Basic Income (UBI) and Universal Basic Services (UBS).

Conclusion: The path forward requires a new social model combining a safety net with meaningful community and purpose.

The Liberal Story & Its Vulnerability

Liberalism defines liberty as authority stemming from individual feelings, desires, and choices.

Core Liberal Beliefs:

Politics: Democratic elections

Economics: Free markets

Personal: Following one’s heart

Vulnerability: This reliance on feelings is the “Achilles’ heel” of liberal democracy, as technology can now hack and manipulate the human heart.

The "Human Hacking" Formula (b x c x d = ahh)

The formula b x c x d = ahh (Biological knowledge x Computing power x Data = Ability to hack humans) explains how algorithms gain authority.

Mechanism: Biometric sensors convert biological processes into data, which computers analyse to understand us better than we understand ourselves.

Example (Medicine): Algorithms will monitor health 24/7, detecting diseases long before symptoms appear. This could lead to constant algorithmic recommendations, with non-compliance potentially impacting insurance or employment.

The Rise of Algorithmic Authority

Algorithms will make better decisions for us by overcoming human limitations like insufficient data, faulty programming (genetic/cultural), and chaos.

Example (Entertainment): Algorithms will use real-time biometric data (e.g., eye movements, heart rate) to determine true preferences, bypassing unreliable self-reporting.

Example (Information): Google search has become so dominant that “truth is defined by the top results,” diminishing our ability to search for information independently.

Next Steps

All Participants:

Reflect on the session’s themes, especially the b x c x d = ahh formula.

Share reflections via email for potential publication on The Teachers Academy (www.happyteacher.in) blog.

Join the “Saturday 5.30pm” WhatsApp group for ongoing discussion.

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Sandeep Dutt:

Share the session recording on the My Good School YouTube channel.

Publish show notes and the recording link in the Good Schools of India (www.gsi.in) newsletter.