In this blog post, we delve deeply into whether we should worship the flood of data or simply use it as a tool.
The era has arrived where pure human capability alone can no longer process vast amounts of data. Human frailty, long well-hidden, has been laid bare. Since ancient times, humanity has shown boundless submission before entities that unmistakably reveal its own frailty. Examples include the unconquerable forces of nature or incomprehensible phenomena. Unlike the land where they could roam freely, people gazed upon the sky they could only observe, feeling either longing or fear, and often worshipped that sky. The sense of powerlessness felt before natural phenomena particularly drew humans to myths and legends. Natural phenomena like lightning, storms, and earthquakes were not merely objects of fear but were accepted as evidence of transcendent power. Humans mobilized various imaginative efforts to understand these forces. In this process, numerous gods and myths were born, and humans believed they could gain some measure of control over nature through these deities.
Furthermore, for phenomena like the weather, which could neither be controlled nor understood, humans imagined a transcendent being manipulating these events and worshipped that entity. So, should we worship this uncontrollable flood of data and the future’s immense data processing systems, beyond our intellectual grasp? The answer is no.
First, humans are not a docile species willing to meekly accept their own frailty. Behind every act of submission, a rebellious spirit has always lurked. The sky we once gazed upon in awe is no longer an object of worship but merely a transportation route. Like the land, it has become a conquered territory we can roam freely whenever we wish. This attitude extends beyond nature and science to our stance on technological advancement in modern society. From artificial intelligence to robotics and nanotechnology, humans are moving beyond merely using the tools they create out of necessity. We are advancing toward controlling and developing these tools more efficiently. So, should we worship the airplane that allows us to fly freely, replacing our puny, wingless bodies? Of course not. The airplane is merely a tool created to meet human needs. Isn’t it the same with the weather? We no longer believe in wind spirits, rain gods, or cloud messengers, nor do we worship weather observation devices or the supercomputers that process data from them to predict the weather. Data and data processing systems are no different. There is no reason to worship tools created out of necessity, simply because they perform calculations beyond human capability. Nor is there any reason to worship the flood of data itself, since using these tools allows us to extract only the information we desire from vast data sets. Data will merely follow the path of the heavens and the weather, ultimately facing human betrayal.
Nevertheless, could data still become an object of worship or belief, like some modern religions that persist today? First, let us examine why modern religions exist, or can exist, as religions. Yuval Noah Harari states in Homo Deus that religion is not about belief in supernatural forces or belief in a god. For those who hold religion, it is not something created by someone, but a natural law existing in and of itself, the operating principle of the world. Therefore, without religion, the world cannot be understood, nor can it function properly. Religion exists as a superhuman force beyond human will, a law or system to be obeyed, not something to be believed or disbelieved. At least, that is how it is for religious people. Thus, modern religion can exist because people holding these beliefs gather to form social functions or to imbue social structures with superhuman laws.
So, does the generated data satisfy these characteristics of modern religion? First, all matter and ideas possess their own data. They exist not because we believe in the data, but because they exist, the data exists. Data is, after all, an explanation of some existence. The world operates as these data interact. Moreover, without data, the world cannot be understood. Since time immemorial, humanity has understood the world by collecting and analyzing data, enabling our survival to this day. Up to this point, data largely satisfies the characteristics of religion. But is data truly an entity that must be obeyed? It does not seem so. Unlike religion, which functions by forming a system or exerts an unstoppable force, data is merely an element. If religion is a semiconductor made by extracting silicon from grains of sand, then data is the sand itself. While a computer operates based on the functions of the semiconductor, the amount of sand piled around the computer has no bearing on its functionality whatsoever. From this perspective, data is ultimately just a simple material that enhances human knowledge and understanding. Like all technology and tools, data is merely used according to human intent and purpose; it cannot itself become an object of worship.
Some might argue that religion, as mentioned earlier, is neither self-evident nor grandiose. They might say religion is merely a virtual crutch providing mental, emotional, or spiritual strength. Observing religious people around us reveals quite a few who view religion relatively lightly. Of course, this doesn’t mean their faith is lacking. It simply means the meaning or role of religion can differ for each person. So, by their standards, does data satisfy the characteristics of religion? Suppose you find yourself in a deeply sorrowful situation. If analyzing the data piece by piece about how that situation arose calms your mind and lifts your spirits, then that person could adopt data as their religion.
In conclusion, while we cannot know what religion humans will believe in and live by in the distant future, it will certainly not be data. During this transitional period of information overload, there might be a brief time when people caught up in data omnipotence, or perhaps slightly eccentric individuals, worship data as a religion. But ultimately, data will exist solely as a means for human life, never becoming an end in itself. Thus, while data plays a crucial role as a tool in modern society, it will ultimately remain under human control, existing only as a means to achieve our purposes.
