This is a summary of the book titled “The Power of Not Thinking” by Simon Roberts who is a business anthropologist and describes embodied knowledge that is not inculcated into Artificial Intelligence. Embodied knowledge derives from the body through the movement, muscle memory, sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. It includes experiences that evoke deep sensory memories that allow us to take actions without thought and pattern recognition. These embedded memories enable us to feel, rather than merely reason our way through many decisions. He makes a case for companies to pair data with experiential learning.

A long tradition has created a dichotomy between mind and body where thinking is part of the brain, but we learn in ways different from computers. He takes the example of driving and explains that we take the wheel, feel the road, engage both our body and brain and our common sense, and master it over time until we can engage in it on autopilot. AI on the other hand is dependent on sensors and recognizing patterns, processing them in milliseconds and responding immediately. Neither can cope with every driving situation, but the more experienced drivers can afford to do so automatically.

The idea that mind and body are different, also called the Cartesian dualism, regards the body as a thing that the mind operates. By dismissing senses and emotions as unreliable inputs, this worldview initiated the scientific method, experimentation, and evidence-based thinking. Human intellect is not merely a product of the brain but also the body’s engagement with the surroundings that forges comprehension of the world. Both the body and the brain gain knowledge. Experience and Routine helps us create embodied knowledge.

Embodied knowledge is acquired through the following five methods:

Observation – this is an experience involving the whole body where for example we feel the grip, hear the racket hitting the ball and trigger the same reactions in the brain and the body when we actually do so.

Practice – We learn to ride a bike by observing others ride. Acquiring new skills like skiing or sailing demands experience, practice, observation, and instruction. With more experience and practice, we can do the activity without thinking.

Improvisation - AI is still governed by supervised learning and big data. On the other hand, judgements based on incomplete information proves crucial. For example, firefighters learn to sense how structures will collapse because they can feel it.

Empathy – is about how another person uses a tool or navigates the world, go beyond reading about it or talking to them

Retention – when we taste or smell, memories flood the mind, demonstrating that recollection resides in the body as well as the brain.

Firms spend a lot to collect and crunch data but through experience, decision makers can better utilize the data. When leaders at Duracell wanted to understand their market for outdoor adventures, they pitched tents in the dark, cooked in the rain, and slept in a range of temperatures. This helped them pair their insights with the data analysis and the resulting campaign was one of the most successful. The author asserts that statistics can tell a relevant story, but they have limited ability to tell a nuanced human story. Policymakers just like business leaders can also benefit from this dual approach and the author provides examples for that as well.

Software developers are improving AI and robots by introducing state read from sequences and they have also found that AI that learns through trials and errors is also able to do better than some of the humans in the most complex games. At the same time, it is our embodiment that makes our intelligence hard to reproduce.