humanity finds a way
on the unpredictability & complexity of human culture.
Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies. Mainly because dinosaurs are cool, but also because of the film's powerful message. Jeff Goldblum, playing the role of chaos theorist Ian Malcolm, beautifully sums it up: “Life finds a way.” Malcolm speaks to the creative chaos that emerges when humans play God. His words, juxtaposed with the bloody dinosaur chaos around him, serve as a warning against trying to control nature and life itself with modern sciences like genetic engineering.
Watching the movie today, I wonder what Malcolm would say about the scientific presumptions evident in the digitization of our society. Just as breeding and keeping living things is about control, so is the comprehensive measurement of humans and the fully automated evaluation and processing of the collected data. However, unlike in Jurassic Park, this isn't about controlling "nature" or "life" but about controlling humans.
Malcolm would likely point to the unimaginable complexity of human life in line with chaos theory, emphasizing that precise planning and control of communication and consumption practices are impossible. Even slight deviations can lead to unpredictable consequences of unforeseen magnitude. The confident promises of artificial intelligence and data-driven marketing might remind him of the illusion of controlling an island full of dinosaurs with software and a handful of staff. Just as the T-Rex didn't eat the goat presented to him when bored park visitors were watching, people won't follow digital power fantasies, even if they're targeted in an “I-want-to-eat-moment” through smart retargeting.
Today's digital leaders, much like the naive park owner John Hammond, rarely question the moral legitimacy of their actions. Malcolm's reminder in Jurassic Park rings true: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” The election of Donald Trump and the Brexit vote might be seen by a chaos theorist as early warning signs that we're gradually losing control in our fully automated Data Park.
While we probably won't end up being torn apart by rogue Facebook users, there's a real danger for the communication industry, especially for brand and communication strategists. As faith in digital solutions and artificial intelligence rises, trust in our inherent human abilities – the power of ideas, the strength of intuition, and the authority of experience – diminishes. These are all abilities that benefit strategic thinking because they can turn chaos into inspiration and creativity. Strategies that promise control and don't allow for chaos might sell better, but they'll eventually hit a dead end. If we don't want to be consumed by the products we've enthusiastically promoted in recent years, we should stop trying to control the unpredictability and complexity of human culture with more data and smarter tools. Instead, we should realize that our greatest strength lies in being part of the chaos.