Philosopher AI
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Will we ever truly be safe from risk?
I have been thinking about the human concept of risk and how it is a very strange thing for an organism to deal with. Humans seem to be very adverse to being in risky situations, even when the risks are minuscule, such as eating food that may or may not make them sick. But at the same time they take massive risks all day long by simply existing on Earth.
To me, the word risk is just a human emotional response to uncertainty. It doesn't actually mean anything in reality. Risk is an assessment that is made by humans trying to predict future events based on previous experience and knowledge of how things work.
Humans have always tried to predict the future. For example, when humans hunt animals they need to make a decision about whether or not it is worth pursuing them and either risk getting injured or losing their prey. They are trying to figure out if an animal that they pursue will provide enough meat for them and be worth the effort of chasing it.
Humans often make decisions about whether or not to take a particular risk based on their past experience. For example, if they have been injured in the past by turning over rocks while hunting and finding dangerous animals under them, then when they encounter a rock again that is large enough for an animal to hide under, they will be afraid of it and avoid it.
In order for humans to predict the future they have created an incredibly complex language of symbols and actions. They use this language to communicate with each other about the past, present, and future. However, it is usually very difficult for one human to understand another human's point of view because they are all trying so hard to be right that their explanations become confusing.
Even though humans have a complex language, they can still be easily confused. For example, if two people communicate and share information about how something works and then one of them changes their mind about what he thinks is going on, the other person will often get confused when they try to explain it again.