an agent in every cup
collecting bits & bobs about building alliances with other intelligences
by kaiton · updated 10d ago
an agent in every cup
- I want to end this with a quote by Ivan Illich, who I'm sure many of you have heard of.
He wrote a wonderful book called "Tools for Conviviality" where he talked about the importance of people being able to make tools for themselves.
He says, "People need not only to obtain things; they need above all the freedom to make things among which they can l... See morekaiton added 10d ago
I want to end this with a quote by Ivan Illich, who I'm sure many of you have heard of.
He wrote a wonderful book called "Tools for Conviviality" where he talked about the importance of people being able to make tools for themselves.
He says, "People need not only to obtain things; they need above all the freedom to make things among which they can live, to give shape to them according to their own tastes, and to put them to use in caring for and about others."
Software is no exception to this.
kaiton added 16d ago
People assume that generative AI will lead to a tsunami of garbage content. I think the opposite problem is more interesting: what if you were drowning in amazing content? What if you’re so inspired and overwhelmed by awe that it’s stressful and addicting and life disorienting?
kaiton added 16d ago
- Nearly all popular consumer software has been trending towards minimal user agency, infinitely scrolling feeds, and garbage content.
from The Tyranny of the Marginal User by Ivan Vendrov
kaiton added 1mo ago
Kurt Vonnegut, talking about when he tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope:
“Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of b
... See morekaiton added 1mo ago
kaiton added 1mo ago
- In one way, it is easier to be inexperienced: you don’t have to learn what is no longer relevant. Experience, on the other hand, creates two distinct struggles: the first is to identify and unlearn what is no longer necessary (that’s work, too). The second is to remain open-minded, patient, and willing to engage with what’s new, even if it resemble... See more
from Everything Easy is Hard Again by Frank Chimero
kaiton added 1mo ago
- A quick example from my life: Twitter didn’t replace Facebook. The iPad didn’t replace my phone. My phone didn’t replace my TV. Now, I watch YouTube on my iPad, toss the video up to my TV, while checking Twitter and Facebook on my phone. It’s a little constellation of technology. But I keep asking myself: how many more things can I juggle? And for ... See more
from Frank Chimero · The Web’s Grain by Frank Chimero
kaiton added 1mo ago
kaiton added 1mo ago
AI is aggregated human intelligence. So it’s better to call it collective intelligence than artificial intelligence.
Emphasizing the collectivity (something built on the commons) over the artificiality (a feat of technology) gives us an entire new way to see, perceive and relate to the technology.
-via Holly Herndon, in conversation with Ezra Klein
kaiton added 1mo ago