Hi Josh, I’m enjoying your ongoing reflections about AI and education. (I really appreciate the audio version, too!)
I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts on Jacques Ellul as you read The Technological Society. The perspective of actual engineers is often conspicuously absent in these kinds of conversations.
Thanks Jordan! Glad to hear you like the audio voiceover too. It’s hard to tell if anyone listens since, as far as I can tell at least, there’s no way to get any stats on it.
I’m sure that Ellul will continue to show up in future essays as I keep reading him. I’m expecting to find myself in tension with him at points, but hoping to be challenged in my thinking. And yes, there are far too few engineers thinking about these things in depth. One of my goals in writing here is to invite more to join me in these spaces.
I love this set of thoughts. Thank you for sharing with the world.
I work on AI for one of The Big Ones, and I see it as a hammer (albeit a *somewhat* sophisticated hammer). Does everyone need to know how to use it to its ultimate potential? Nah, not necessary. Does it behoove everyone to be able to perform basic household tasks with it? Yes. Would I just hand it to someone and say “wield away!” with no conversation on safety or technique? I sure hope not! Are there other tools that should be in the box alongside the hammer? DEFINITELY.
Thanks August. I like your framing here. The first step is for us to realize that we’ve got a hammer in our hand with specific strengths and weaknesses. Before we get a handle on what it’s good for and some of the potential unintended consequences it’s hard to use it wisely.
What’s tricky about AI is that it’s harder to analyze than a hammer. But starting with the framing questions you shared, even if we disagree about the answers to them, is an important first step.
oh my goodness, thank you for the introduction to Jaques Ellul! I am not a philosopher by training or inclination, so I had never come across his work before. Really enjoying the essay. Also really appreciated your take on homework and humanity in this post.
Hi Josh, I’m enjoying your ongoing reflections about AI and education. (I really appreciate the audio version, too!)
I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts on Jacques Ellul as you read The Technological Society. The perspective of actual engineers is often conspicuously absent in these kinds of conversations.
Thanks Jordan! Glad to hear you like the audio voiceover too. It’s hard to tell if anyone listens since, as far as I can tell at least, there’s no way to get any stats on it.
I’m sure that Ellul will continue to show up in future essays as I keep reading him. I’m expecting to find myself in tension with him at points, but hoping to be challenged in my thinking. And yes, there are far too few engineers thinking about these things in depth. One of my goals in writing here is to invite more to join me in these spaces.
I love this set of thoughts. Thank you for sharing with the world.
I work on AI for one of The Big Ones, and I see it as a hammer (albeit a *somewhat* sophisticated hammer). Does everyone need to know how to use it to its ultimate potential? Nah, not necessary. Does it behoove everyone to be able to perform basic household tasks with it? Yes. Would I just hand it to someone and say “wield away!” with no conversation on safety or technique? I sure hope not! Are there other tools that should be in the box alongside the hammer? DEFINITELY.
Thanks August. I like your framing here. The first step is for us to realize that we’ve got a hammer in our hand with specific strengths and weaknesses. Before we get a handle on what it’s good for and some of the potential unintended consequences it’s hard to use it wisely.
What’s tricky about AI is that it’s harder to analyze than a hammer. But starting with the framing questions you shared, even if we disagree about the answers to them, is an important first step.
oh my goodness, thank you for the introduction to Jaques Ellul! I am not a philosopher by training or inclination, so I had never come across his work before. Really enjoying the essay. Also really appreciated your take on homework and humanity in this post.
Thank you! Glad you found Ellul thought provoking.
Yes!!!