Preamble
This is going to be a bit more tame than my last post. This is a better reflection of my professional thoughts on AI. There is a balance that you have to achieve when using this technology.
Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus said:
[Writing] will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories
One of the greatest thinkers criticized writing because it was destructive to learning. It’s easy to view AI in a similar vein. However, I think we can all agree that writing was a boon on humanity. It’s easy to have skepticism for AI and use it as a scapegoat for society downfall. Just as we can heed Socrates’ worry with benefit of hindsight, we can anticipate the effect that AI will have on humanity’s future.
Some more thoughts on (Gen) AI and how I use it
The following is from a passage I wrote recently and included on the “B-Side” of my resume for a tech job fair.
AI is an amazing tool that is revolutionizing our industry both in terms of organizational productivity and integrating or creating new products that use Gen AI. Despite how amazing AI can be it is inherently risky to use. I separate my use by determining core and context activities. Core activities are foundational to an entity. My resume uses no Gen AI. I want this to be a reflection of who I am as a person without an AI taking anything away. I avoid using AI to write code for core business logic and key algorithms(ask me about the important legal reasons to do this). Context activities are the extra bits that are needed to get your core working but aren’t what makes you unique. I will use AI to write boilerplate code and do integrations. I will use AI when writing documentation or a general report. Businesses that are going to remain successful need thoughtful technical leaders on how to navigate the AI landscape. Each organization and product is going to have different needs on how to integrate and use AI. If you are looking for someone that can lead or contribute, my contact info is at the top of the page.