Knowledge vs. Information

By Mark Nuyens
7 min. read📱 Technology
TL;DR

There is a difference between knowledge and information and it's interesting to think what lies beyond: experience?

Google has long been the dominant force on the web, providing access to the world’s information by crawling the web, one page at a time. Apart from minor tweaks, Google hadn't significantly changed its search engine until its recent major event focused on AI, where it introduced AI Overviews. This change was likely prompted by growing competition from ChatGPT and Meta. However, the rollout didn't go smoothly, as it provided inaccurate information, advising users to eat rocks or glue cheese to their pizza. Not the best start for a new feature from a company the size of a nation-state.

The AI engine responsible for this debacle had been using unreliable sources, leading to misinformation being spread through Google’s most valuable product. It's intriguing to watch a company like Google grapple with the complexities of AI, particularly Large Language Models. There often seems to be no perfect solution. When it fails to provide accurate information to one group, it risks offending another. Generalizing information inherently causes misalignment because summarizing sources isn't the same as possessing knowledge. Knowledge is the culmination of information within a specific context or domain, applied to particular questions.

While Google has amassed a vast amount of information over the years, it still struggles to transform that data into relatable knowledge, given the diverse nature of people and their questions. Many LLMs exercise caution when addressing health, politics, or other sensitive topics. However, these models face pressure to either hallucinate or censor responses based on the consensus of those who control the LLM. This isn't just about protecting users but also about protecting the companies themselves. Given the stakes, it's impressive how well these companies have managed these issues, especially considering the volume of requests answered every second.

But this approach has its limits, as Google has discovered with its reliance on information collection alone. So, what's next? If information represents the search engine and knowledge represents the LLM, what lies beyond? I believe the next chapter will revolve around experience—physical experience, to be exact. By integrating AI into our physical world, allowing it to understand our environment, and absorbing our human flaws, qualities, fears, and ambitions, AI can gain the experience needed to assist with our daily struggles and improve us through shared digital experiences.

As I discussed in my article Human Speedrun, this could be a real game-changer (no pun intended). Imagine asking for help for cooking a healthy meal, or changing a flat tire. With its extensive experience, AI could provide real-time instructions for almost any task. Beyond data from other people, it will have trained on millions of online tutorials, guides, and demos, ready to serve as a brilliant tutor. This revolution will not only impact daily life but also education. Instead of reading text from an LLM, children will learn from AI tutors through engaging examples and entertaining classes, fully automated and responsive to any question.

No need to raise your hand—just interrupt the AI tutor and engage with the content. You could practice instructions and even reach certain levels based on exams judged by AI. Imagine your favorite teacher, magnified to cover any field or domain you prefer. Learning would become an immersive experience. If a lesson goes too fast, simply ask the AI to slow down or repeat previous material. This engaging approach would likely surpass traditional entertainment, making learning feel like exploring new things or watching an interesting documentary. Lessons would be tailored to your personality, making concepts relatable and easy to grasp.

I believe this next step in AI will bring us closer to experiencing a richer, more interesting life while still having fun. It could become the next big thing since books, television, or the internet. Perhaps I'm overly optimistic, but I think we and the next generations have a fascinating and unique future awaiting us.