Throughout the semester, I’ve learned that the ways that cyber-technology influences our life. I’ve also learned how thorough cyber policy and efficient, well protected infrastructure is much harder to develop than I might have initially assumed. Lawmakers, cyber engineers, criminologists, scholars, and more have to take much into consideration when developing plans and rules. Further, many concerns might contradict others or cause conflict between disciplines or industries. Having basic guidelines, such as those from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, help but leave much to be desired, as they might not always account for complicated issues or situations.

Predictive knowledge, most plainly, is the predictions we can make based on the knowledge we currently possess. Predictive knowledge allows us to make plans based on what is currently going on within a system. It shows which reactions are associated with which actions. It can be extremely useful for analyzing a system. However, the biggest downfall is that it’s only most useful in a short window of time: right in the moment the prediction is made and shortly after.

Because predictive knowledge has such short-term relevance and is constantly changing, we cannot solely use it to develop cyber policy and infrastructure. Doing so would result in nearly endless change and a system that could not keep up. Instead, we can use predictive knowledge as a tool to better understand our past and capture what’s happening in the present. From there, we can use long-term predictions and trends, compare it to predictive knowledge, and determine what to do. This allows us to look further into the future without completely neglecting what is happening in the present. Much like nearly everything else related to cyber technology, it is an extremely thin line to balance on. Nothing in this world is absolute. No matter how many special algorithms or complex programs we have, we can’t predict the future. However, with predictive knowledge in our toolkit, we can make positive changes and stronger systems.