It turns out that in fields, ranging from medicine and education to social studies and government, the best decisions are made using a balance of human and machine strengths. But remember, there is another elusive but vital capability that must also be considered: common sense. You might know people with strong common sense and understand its value. You also might have seen or read output from machines that makes no sense. Yet, there’s a contribution to be made from both sides.

Common sense draws on many complex generalizations mixed with compassion and abstractions. At this time, only humans can use common sense well. The problem is that common sense is often tainted with bias that can distort your judgment. AI systems can balance this. As long as AI systems are provided and trained with unbiased data, they can make recommendations that are free of bias. A partnership between humans and machines can lead to sensible decisions.