If you’re new here this is a weekly post where I summarize some of the interesting stuff I’ve read lately.
Stuff I’m doing 👨🏻💻
I started taking clients for the first time as business owner! This is a huge step for me. While I’ve been in the corporate world my entire life, I’ve always had an entrepreneurial itch that needed to be scratched. I might talk about this in more detail in the future.
Stuff I’ve read 👨🏻💻📚
🤖An Overwhelmingly Negative And Demoralizing Force’: What It’s Like Working For A Company That’s Forcing AI On Its Developers
My last job was in a Director role for a CMS startup. Over time we started to lose customers and we were hemorrhaging money. Months after I left I noticed they had completed rebranded to an AI first company. The software hasn’t changed at all but AI is where all of the money and attention is at the moment so they pivoted. AI can been extremely useful if used correctly but too many companies are forcing it into their employees workflows.
They say their project’s art direction has been largely fuelled by AI prompts and generated imagery, all driven by their head Art Director, who is himself an experienced video game artist, but who now “can’t even write a fucking email without using Chat GPT”.
Again, AI can be useful if used correctly. This reminds me of the new “Make America Healthy Again” report in the United States. It’s riddled with citations to reports that don’t even exist.
He doesn’t know that the important thing isn’t just the end result, it’s the journey and the questions you answer along the way”.
I love this! The end result of our work is heavily influenced by the time and effort we put in. AI has none of the journey, it’s just answers.
those who have drank the AI Kool-Aid don’t understand that all this brainstorming and iteration is making the game, it’s a crucial everyday part of game development (and human interaction) and is not a problem to be solved.”
Again, the act of doing the work is just as important, if not more important, than the end result. The work is how we learn and improve in our craft.
🧐“Knowingness” and the Politics of Ignorance
There is, perhaps, one hypothesis that helps explain why Musk behaves in such baffling ways. That explanation is linked to an intellectual toxin that seems to be in plentiful supply these days: the cerebral poison of knowingness.
See also the Dunning-Kruger effect for an explanation as to why this happens. Copious amounts of ketamine doesn’t hurt either.
Knowingness is a term coined by another Jonathan, the philosopher Jonathan Lear. It’s defined by a relationship to knowledge in which we always believe that we already know the answer—even before the question is asked. It’s a lack of intellectual curiosity, in which the purpose of knowledge is to reaffirm prior beliefs rather than to be a journey of discovery and awe.
See also Confirmation Bias. This is also very common in high-demand religions. Growing up I was surrounded by it.
It feels good to be right, to prove others wrong, to win the combative joust that defines most of our national politics these days. But it feels even better to learn. I’ve experienced a transformation in my own research—and my life more generally—when I finally began to seriously grapple with the vastness of my own ignorance.
☕️Stoop Coffee: How a Simple Idea Transformed My Neighborhood
Hanging out on a stoop is not a novel concept. Unfortunately, an increasing trend of isolation has resulted in fewer and fewer neighbors gathering to connect with one another. Stooping has provided benefits to so many communities. Why not bring this concept to my own neighborhood?
My retired neighbours do this sometimes. Maybe I should join them?
Our neighborhood community is now a group of people that we rely on and who rely on us for emotional support, last-minute childcare, home-cooked meals, general comradery, and much more.
There are countless studies and articles that have covered the decline of friendships and community. I can’t say that I haven’t fallen victim to it. I don’t really know my own neighbours and I have very few friends. Not to mention the decline of Third Places that allow us to socialize and gather outside of our homes and workplaces.
I wanted to end on a positive note so I’ll stop there.
