Our Universe: How deterministic or stochastic?
In deterministic models, the output of the model is fully determined by the parameter values and the initial conditions. Stochastic models possess some inherent randomness. The same set of parameter values and initial conditions will lead to an ensemble of different outputs.
As we embark on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we witnessed the many jobs that were and soon-to-be replaced by artificial intelligence. Looking at the jobs that were replaced, I notice a common denominator among them — They were jobs which we have found sufficient parameters required to form a “good enough” deterministic model to perform the job, such as mail sorting, clothes sewing, car manufacturing and etc.
Adding another case for discussion. In a recent case, there was the defeat of the world’s best Go player, Lee Sedol, by a computer program, AlphaGo. Many thought the outcome was unimaginable and never possible. The defeat was such a devastating blow to Lee Sedol and his belief that he chose to retire.
“With the debut of AI in Go games, I’ve realized that I’m not at the top even if I become the №1 through frantic efforts. Even if I become the №1, there is an entity that cannot be defeated.” — Lee Sedol
Personally, I used to have a strong believe that we are all unique individuals and that we have full capabilities in exercising our own free will. However, as I got to know more about personality tests, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) and the results of my own test, I notice that much of my behaviors were pretty much expected. According to MBTI®, I am an INTP and I can very much agree to most of the points that describes me. Even my close friend was surprised as to how accurate the description was about me.
I question the degree to which our universe follows a truly stochastic and non-deterministic model? Are we living in a universe mostly bounded by deterministic models but due to our inability to comprehend all the finite and available, albeit chaotic and complex, parameters of our universe, we choose to believe that our universe is mostly bounded by stochastic models, where there is bound to have some level of randomness or unpredictability.
Looking into the future, where humans develop more advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, we could possibly make use of stochastic models of the present to unravel the ‘randomness’ of our universe and turn them into more deterministic models of the future.
