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Chapter Twelve- Man And Machine 

People worry that computers are replacing people. That a process similar to globalization is taking place, similar to how people lose their jobs in other countries, they worry that computers will take over humans over time. People need to understand that computers are complements for humans, not substitutes. The kinds of things computers are good at aren’t the same kind of things humans are good at.

People and computers combined can do tasks better together than either will do individually. This presents business opportunities. The ability of the abilities of people and computers can complement one another. Thiel mentions an example from his own company PayPal, how they developed a system for detecting credit card fraud that flagged suspicious transactions which could be then reviewed by human operators.

There are many opportunities yet to arise from this synchronicity. Computers can’t do everything, it’s a matter of humans feeding them data. Computers can’t come close to human analysis. The future of computing is necessarily full-on unknowns. Replacement by computers is a worry for the 22nd century. Indefinite worries about the future shouldn’t stop us from making plans today.