'Drowning in data': 73% of business leaders in UAE want robots to make decisions for them

New study shows that people are having trouble making decisions due to an overwhelming amount of data and lack of trust in sources

Top Stories

Embracing the bright side: A guide on how to cultivate optimism

The power of solitude: Why you should go on a solo trip

How to get your kids to read: Essential tips for parents

File photo

Published: Wed 10 May 2023, 4:05 PM

Robots are not just assisting people in their mundane daily tasks, their roles have expanded into decision-making as well.

The survey found that 73 per cent of business leaders in the UAE would prefer a robot to make their decisions, because 80 per cent of them have suffered from decision distress – regretting, feeling guilty about, or questioning a decision they made in the past year. According to a survey released by Oracle, people in the UAE are overwhelmed by the amount of data and this is damaging trust, making decisions much more complicated, and negatively impacting their quality of life.

More than half – 58 per cent – of the business leaders in the UAE claim that the sheer volume of data and their lack of trust in data has stopped them from making any decision, said the survey 'The Decision Dilemma'.

The global study covered responses from 1,000 people in the UAE – 500 business leaders and a similar number from the general workforce.

It found that people in the UAE are struggling to make decisions in their personal and professional lives at a time when they are being forced to make more decisions than ever before.

What UAE says

78 per cent say the number of decisions they make every day has increased 10-fold in 3 years
79 per cent are getting bombarded with more data from more sources than ever before
86 per cent say the volume of data is making decisions in their personal and professional lives much more complicated
87 per cent admit they face a decision dilemma – not knowing what decision to make
31 per cent don’t know which data or sources to trust
72 per cent have given up on making a decision because the data was overwhelming
87 per cent say this inability to make decisions is hurting their quality of life
93 per cent, as a result, have changed the way they make decisions in the last 3 years
40 per cent now only listen to sources they trust
23 per cent rely solely on gut feelings
94 per cent want help from data
58 per cent admit the sheer volume of data and their lack of trust in data has stopped them from making any decision
77 per cent say the hassle of having to collect so much data and interpret it is too much for them to handle
73 per cent of business leaders would prefer for all these difficulties to just disappear, and to have a robot make their decisions.

“People are drowning in data. This study highlights how the overwhelming amount of inputs a person gets in their average day -- internet searches, news alerts, unsolicited comments from friends -- frequently add up to more information than the brain is configured to handle. People are tempted to throw out the confusing, and sometimes conflicting, data and just do what feels right. But this can be a big mistake,” said Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, data scientist and author of Everybody Lies and Don’t Trust Your Gut.

“As businesses expand to serve new customers in new ways, the number of data inputs they need to get the full picture expands too. Business leaders that make critical decisions about how to manage their companies ignore that data at their own risk,” said TK Anand, executive vice president, Oracle Analytics.

“The hesitancy, distrust, and lack of understanding of data shown by this study indicate that many people and organisations need to rethink their approach to data and decision-making,” said Anand.

ALSO READ: