An excellent related post on AI hallucinations and how to think about them. One of my favorite lines:
"But leave the artistry, the imagination, the inspiration, the creativity to us, with or without digital tools. AI doesn’t care what it does; it’s a piece of software. But we do. We care whether we will be able to earn a living doing what we love, and we care whether we’re able to choose how we create."
In the comments, Zan Tafakari referenced Paul Skallas' writing on this topic, which I had not read before. I found it, and indeed, it's terrific and very aligned with this article and part two. Here's a link to it:
This is an interesting post. Definitely looking forward to part 2.
“Overcoming thinkism is the key to thriving in the AI age, especially with generative AI, because you can use it to enhance your creativity in myriad ways.”
I agree with your general principle of doing more and not worrying about “over” thinking. But I’m just not sure whether using generative AI is a good proxy for “doing”.
To some extent there is some “stuckness” with the current generative AI tools (see Paul Skallas’ writing on this”) and I almost find that these days true creativity comes from leaning into oneself rather than leaning into stochastic, probabilistic, parroting AI.
Absolutely, I think we're in complete alignment because in part two is all about leaning into oneself instead of parroting AI. 100% with you, which is why I went to the lengths of getting concrete about exactly how to work with it, with true creativity. Hope you enjoy it here: https://technosapien.substack.com/p/how-to-beat-ai-thinkism-part-2
Great podcast session about “The science of delay,” and a psychologist who has studied procrastination for 30 years and discussion of his research based on experience sampling.
I love these ideas:
“The Procrastination Doom Loop,” —the science of putting things off.
“Procrastination, is more about mood than time management.”
“Wisdom is our ability to follow through on our own advice.”
An experience sampling study on procrastination, with a key finding that statistically, once you “just get started,” subjects found that the doing is much less difficult than originally feared. Their common response was that they wish they had started sooner.
Also, that we’re terrible at affect forecasting— predicting how we’ll feel about something once we try.
How mindfulness can help break through the Procrastination Doom Loop.
The opposite of thinkism, presentism.
Book recommendation: The Art of Procrastination by John Perry.
How to “warm up” with simple tasks to conquer procrastination.
Good one! It reminds me of one of my favorites, and a classic TED talk, by Tim Urban.
There's a balance point in here that's important I think. In my writings on systems thinking I'm begging people to pause and consider the larger system. Yet it still pairs well with your essay.
Yes Do. Don't wait, get involved and try it out. Get your hands dirty and experiment.
Also yes think about the larger system. Can it do more than search? Can I apply it in new ways? What ways might it work well or not so well? What are the longer term impacts on what I'm doing? How do I use it to elevate?
We seem to auger between analysis paralysis and what looks like people not thinking at all (hello OceanGate the "do'er of do'ers")
That is an excellent point, for sure. Which essay do you think fits best? You have several good ones on the topic of systems thinking. The ideas pair well because unless you engage with AI and try it, there's no way to have a meaningful insight into how it fits into the bigger picture/system.
Exactly true on that. You have to explore it and as you explore it you also have to continue to step back and look at the icnreasingly larger context for application... and misuse... so that you have the best preparation.
The essay coming out this week is actually going to be the most distilled that hits this topic but until then this is probably Taoism and Proofs of Concept. It attempts to thread the balance of 'move fast and break stuff' with 'design first, then code' Both require action (movement or design) but one is reactive and the other intentional.
An excellent related post on AI hallucinations and how to think about them. One of my favorite lines:
"But leave the artistry, the imagination, the inspiration, the creativity to us, with or without digital tools. AI doesn’t care what it does; it’s a piece of software. But we do. We care whether we will be able to earn a living doing what we love, and we care whether we’re able to choose how we create."
https://themuse.substack.com/p/hallucination-nation-part-ii-flowers
In the comments, Zan Tafakari referenced Paul Skallas' writing on this topic, which I had not read before. I found it, and indeed, it's terrific and very aligned with this article and part two. Here's a link to it:
https://paulbakaus.com/ais-biggest-bottleneck-in-2023-humans/
This is an interesting post. Definitely looking forward to part 2.
“Overcoming thinkism is the key to thriving in the AI age, especially with generative AI, because you can use it to enhance your creativity in myriad ways.”
I agree with your general principle of doing more and not worrying about “over” thinking. But I’m just not sure whether using generative AI is a good proxy for “doing”.
To some extent there is some “stuckness” with the current generative AI tools (see Paul Skallas’ writing on this”) and I almost find that these days true creativity comes from leaning into oneself rather than leaning into stochastic, probabilistic, parroting AI.
Absolutely, I think we're in complete alignment because in part two is all about leaning into oneself instead of parroting AI. 100% with you, which is why I went to the lengths of getting concrete about exactly how to work with it, with true creativity. Hope you enjoy it here: https://technosapien.substack.com/p/how-to-beat-ai-thinkism-part-2
Thanks Mark - part 2 was a great read!
Great podcast on this topic from Derek Thompson. Key thought: "Just get started." https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-science-of-procrastination-and-how-to-really/id1594471023?i=1000617693313
Great podcast session about “The science of delay,” and a psychologist who has studied procrastination for 30 years and discussion of his research based on experience sampling.
I love these ideas:
“The Procrastination Doom Loop,” —the science of putting things off.
“Procrastination, is more about mood than time management.”
“Wisdom is our ability to follow through on our own advice.”
An experience sampling study on procrastination, with a key finding that statistically, once you “just get started,” subjects found that the doing is much less difficult than originally feared. Their common response was that they wish they had started sooner.
Also, that we’re terrible at affect forecasting— predicting how we’ll feel about something once we try.
How mindfulness can help break through the Procrastination Doom Loop.
The opposite of thinkism, presentism.
Book recommendation: The Art of Procrastination by John Perry.
How to “warm up” with simple tasks to conquer procrastination.
Good one! It reminds me of one of my favorites, and a classic TED talk, by Tim Urban.
Here’s Tim Urban’s talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator/c
There's a balance point in here that's important I think. In my writings on systems thinking I'm begging people to pause and consider the larger system. Yet it still pairs well with your essay.
Yes Do. Don't wait, get involved and try it out. Get your hands dirty and experiment.
Also yes think about the larger system. Can it do more than search? Can I apply it in new ways? What ways might it work well or not so well? What are the longer term impacts on what I'm doing? How do I use it to elevate?
We seem to auger between analysis paralysis and what looks like people not thinking at all (hello OceanGate the "do'er of do'ers")
That is an excellent point, for sure. Which essay do you think fits best? You have several good ones on the topic of systems thinking. The ideas pair well because unless you engage with AI and try it, there's no way to have a meaningful insight into how it fits into the bigger picture/system.
Exactly true on that. You have to explore it and as you explore it you also have to continue to step back and look at the icnreasingly larger context for application... and misuse... so that you have the best preparation.
The essay coming out this week is actually going to be the most distilled that hits this topic but until then this is probably Taoism and Proofs of Concept. It attempts to thread the balance of 'move fast and break stuff' with 'design first, then code' Both require action (movement or design) but one is reactive and the other intentional.
https://www.polymathicbeing.com/p/taoism-and-proofs-of-concept