How can algorithms predict human behavior, sometimes even better than we know ourselves? From shopping habits to potential health risks, what are the underlying principles that allow machines to seemingly understand the intricacies of the human condition?

Question

We often hear about algorithms that can forecast our preferences, suggest products, or even detect health issues before they become apparent. How can a machine, which doesn’t have consciousness or feelings, accurately predict something so complex as human behavior? I’m fascinated by this intersection of technology and psychology and would love to hear from anyone who can shed light on the mysterious ways these algorithms seem to ‘know’ us. What’s happening behind the scenes that makes this possible?

In: 10

Answer 1

There’s an old saying, “Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailors delight”.

That was a saying long before anyone understood why it worked. People just noticed a pattern after events happened many times.

But they might not notice other more complicated patterns. Red sky plus high clouds plus low sea swells plus wind from 30 degrees southwest when the ship is north of Cuba means…? Even if a single human experienced that situation more than once, that human might not remember what the results were the previous time.

But a computer remembers. And the computers we use today are given huge amounts of data, far more than any human can possibly remember. And the computer looks for patterns. When a set of events happens the computer can look through its vast amount of data to see what usually comes next.