Leverage
It's becoming increasingly evident that in many circles, AI is not perceived as merely a technology, but as "something else" entirely. This misconception is exemplified by the recurring debate: "Humans vs AI." To illustrate the absurdity of this framing, let's replace "AI" with "technology":
"Humans vs... See more
Cristóbal Valenzuelax.comthe fastest path to being perceived as a “genius” (commonplace hyperbole) is to read books that your peers aren’t reading. this will not be a universal perception, but it’s nonetheless a very strong effect that’s amusingly underutilized
x.comSimilarly, when everyone is saying the same things, simply asking why becomes revolutionary.
Quote reply to the previous tweet that captures most of my thoughts well with lots of examples.
Excerpts:
(On design): When designing productivity software, conceptualize it as a medium first and foremost, and a tool secondarily.
(On chatbots as UI): Its browsing, code interpreter, and Dall-E tools are testament to this upside-down design philosophy: the tools go to work first, only thereafter you see some output.
With the exception of code interpreter, interactions with ChatGPT are largely stateless and transactional. Manipulations are indirect.
Excel may be the most influential software ever built. It is a canonical example of Steve Job’s bicycle of the mind, endowing its users with computational superpowers normally reserved for professional software engineers. Armed with those superpowers, users can create fully functional software programs in the form of a humble spreadsheet to solve... See more
Packy McCormick • Excel Never Dies
The Autistic Half-Century
thediff.co
What Alan Kay has been emphasizing, and which is now at the heart of Bret Victor’s design philosophy, is that the computer is a “dynamic medium.” The essence of a computer is not the keyboard, the mouse, and the screen. It’s computational and responsive capabilities that don’t exist in a static medium like paper. We should use this dynamic medium... See more
Alan Chan • My Vision: A Forgotten History
The History of Mathematical Tables: From Sumer to Spreadsheets | Oxford Academic
academic.oup.com
Fascinating historical case of technological and strategic advantage: 400 Spaniards conquered the 6-million Mexican Empire, and just 180 soldiers overwhelmed the 10-million Incan Empire.
Will AGI bring the same kind of strategic advantage, potentially decisive? https://t.co/vqf7eNpICI
AI is the new plastic
notion.so
There is beauty to naturally occurring material… and thought