The Rise of Dataism: A New Era for Human Capital Management
The Unsettling News
When a small Chinese artificial intelligence lab showed in January how to build a large language model that outperformed OpenAI’s ChatGPT at a fraction of the cost, the tech world went into a tailspin and $1tn was wiped off the stock market in a day.
The Rise of Dataism
Dataism is the belief that by gathering ever more data and feeding it to ever more powerful algorithms alone, businesses can uncover the truth, make the right decisions, and create value. This view challenges many of the foundations of management theory — and the economic interplay between labour and capital — while raising loftier expectations for generative AI.
The Implications of Dataism
The revelation captured the zeitgeist of China and the US jockeying for global supremacy in technology. Far less attention, however, has been paid to the creep underpinning this modern-day struggle: the rise of "dataism" and its implications for the future of human capital.
The Future of Knowledge Work
Businesses are grappling with the future of "knowledge work", a looming demographic cliff, and return to work challenges. Some have postulated other consequences, such as a descent into a post-literate society and a faltering of business as a driver of human development.
Conclusion
Human capital management faces disruption at the level of the individual, company, or society on a scale not seen since the industrial revolution. How it navigates both the promise and threat of dataism is its most pressing issue.
Discussion Points
- Further reading:
- The global AI race: Is China catching up to the US?
- The Irreplaceable Value of Human Decision-Making in the Age of AI (Harvard Business Review)
- Why ‘Wisdom Work’ Is the New Knowledge Work (Harvard Business Review)
- Are we becoming a post-literate society?
- Does technology help or hurt employment? (MIT)
- Questions:
- What are the implications of dataism for leadership and management?
- How might the advance of dataism change the economic interplay between labour and capital?
- What opportunities might the forces of automation and augmentation lock or unlock for workers and for business?
- Which groups stand to be winners and losers?
FAQs
Q: What is dataism?
A: Dataism is the belief that by gathering ever more data and feeding it to ever more powerful algorithms alone, businesses can uncover the truth, make the right decisions, and create value.
Q: What are the implications of dataism for human capital management?
A: Human capital management faces disruption at the level of the individual, company, or society on a scale not seen since the industrial revolution. How it navigates both the promise and threat of dataism is its most pressing issue.
Q: What is the future of knowledge work?
A: Businesses are grappling with the future of "knowledge work", a looming demographic cliff, and return to work challenges. Some have postulated other consequences, such as a descent into a post-literate society and a faltering of business as a driver of human development.
Q: What is the relationship between automation and augmentation?
A: Automation is a machine that takes a job’s inputs and does it for the worker, while augmentation is a technology that increases the variety of things people can do, the quality of things people can do, or their productivity.
