My Stance on Artificial Intelligence
I believe artificial intelligence can create more room for human connection. The best role for AI is as a research-aide and support system, while humans remain in control and make the decisions that impact other human beings.
The Pilot Model: Humans Fly, Machines Assist
"I call my model the pilot model. Humans should be the pilots. AI should be the plane. It should always be us who are in control and make the decisions."
I do not see AI replacing customer service agents. Instead, I see customer service agents leveraging AI to build better customer relationships and solve problems more effectively. Understanding and seeing the AI thought process is key: if you cannot build it or understand it, you should never approve it.
If you are not capable of critical thinking, you should not use AI. I do not like letting AI speak for me. I want to make sure I understand things myself first. When decisions impact other human beings, those decisions must be made by human conscience, never delegated away to an automated black box.
Working on the Go, Outdoors, with Pen and Paper
My goal with technology is to reduce screen time so that I have more time to interact with colleagues and live in the real world.
Printed Specs & Pen
I often have AI prepare technical documentation that I print out. I take it outside with pen and paper, study the systems, and sketch the architecture by hand. Then I use AI to transcribe my notes, summarize my findings, and update my CRM systems according to my own decisions.
Voice, Speech & Nature
I love the outdoors. I often use voice-to-speech transcription to work on the go, sitting outside with my computer or walking in the woods. Technology should liberate us from indoor desk captivity rather than chain us to it.
Glorified RAG & Research
I use AI to extract information, references, and documentation, like a glorified retrieval system (RAG). It speeds up finding source documentation so I can focus on architectural judgment.
Never Tell an AI to Summarize
Never tell an AI to summarize. Instead, tell it to repeat back to you, word for word, the exact quotes and references that it found, and exactly what was said and in what context.
If you use AI to simplify your life, you will make yourself dumber. The goal is to use AI to learn and to help you achieve a more complex, in-depth understanding of the subject. When an AI summarizes, it strips out nuance, context, and edge cases. You want the raw citations and exact quotes so your own mind can synthesize the truth.
Why I Never Use AI to Write
When it came to my book, Why I Care, I was careful not to use AI to write. Writing is a passion of mine, one I would never give up to artificial intelligence. At most, I use AI for research and as a sparring partner on the side to challenge my arguments.
Working with AI taught me a lot about my own personal voice. AI has a very dry, corporate tone of voice. After interacting with AI, I realized how important it is to be clear, direct, to avoid technical jargon, to avoid cliches and metaphors, and to use direct examples.
In rhetoric, I learned that the best sentence has to be semantically meaningful. When we talk, it should be because we want to say something. We often focus too much on the form and shape of words, and we miss the meaning behind them.