What is the value proposition of AI in your personal life?
I find AI incredibly promising and use it in my professional endeavours. But at least for now, I am unsure of the value proposition these tools offer in the personal realm. This may mean that, eventually, frontier-model development companies will shift their priorities away from the personal altogether and focus only on the enterprise. We may already be seeing this
Rethinking Eisenhower’s matrix
The Eisenhower decision matrix is a useful framework, but it will need to be rethought for the age of AI. The matrix is essentially a tool for deciding whether to do, schedule, delegate, or delete a specific task.
Creating new worlds
Most people can mentally map spaces. Say you’re heading to the grocery store—you picture the route: milk aisle, cereal aisle, cash register, exit. There’s a debate over whether AI models possess a similar understanding of the environment, especially about whether reading is the same as real experience. But could world models bring this understanding?
Parsing through synthetic media
I don’t know what it is about AI videos that immediately makes me question the validity and value of the content. At first, these videos were fun, quirky, and novel. But now that they are inundating more of my life, and the consequences of this synthetic media are becoming apparent, it is more vital than ever for people to know how to parse through this media.
Overcoming the desire to make human connection easier
People have been found to hold a negative perception of outsourcing socio-relational tasks. Yet people love to find and continue to seek efficiency. AI promises to keep the proverbial efficiency train rolling, but at great cost to our relationships. When it comes to interpersonal relationships, there is no substitute for investing time and energy.
Employing Ulysses contracts to dissuade AI peacocking
In Greek mythology, Ulysses has his men tie him down to hear — yet not fall for — the calls of the sirens. The sirens alluringly promised knowledge, wisdom, and pleasure — if only he would stop and divert the direction of his ship. Meanwhile, the other people onboard put wax in their ears and stayed on course despite Ulysses' pleas. As you navigate the choppy waters of AI, I hope to offer you potential strategies to create your very own contract. So that you can tie yourself to the mast (e.g., ground yourself) so that you can hear the seductive calls from the sirens yet stay afloat and on course.
The sensationalism of agentic models
AI agents have the potential to be a democratizing force for good, giving us all more free time. But there are also many risks with these tools that must be considered. These risks are not the overblown doom or prosperity that may occur sometime in the future. Instead, they are the current risks that are not getting the airtime they deserve.
The cart, the horse, and what it means for you
The expression “the cart before the horse” provides a useful framework for examining the current state of artificial intelligence (AI) development. Currently, those developing frontier models are trying to build a tool that is both impactful (in terms of automation and economic stimulus) and profitable for their business. In my view, using the above idiom, the horse (or the first thing companies should be concerned with is impact). Followed by the cart, which I view as profitability. Unfortunately, it seems many of these companies are shifting gears away from developing better, more impactful models and are instead looking for a quick buck.
The rise of AI companionship
Loneliness is rising, and some see AI as a solution to our intimacy gap. AI companions—often chatbots paired with avatars—promise to fill our need for connection. These companions are not new and have been widely reported on over the years. Alas, as with everything in the modern era, concern over this suite of technologies has subsided, replaced by other worries. Yet, the trend towards artificial intimacy continues.
Dissolving brain rust
AI agents are cool and promise great things — but do not succumb to the rapid rise in cognitive deskilling across the labour market. I have outlined a few ideas for you to consider and adopt if they suit your needs.
Slaying your productivity dragon
The first whole week of January has come and gone, and with it has come the usual hum of the knowledge worker. The return to normalcy has meant emails, meetings, and instant messenger notifications galore. But what if there was a better way? What if this new year, we, as knowledge workers in the digital age, sought out a better, deeper way to engage with our work?
Finding simplicity in your own version of Walden
To kick off 2026, this weekend, I sought out some of the simplicity described in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden.
Avoiding the content consumption trap
I have often struggled to decide what content to consume. If you are like me, hopefully the ideas in this post can help, as they have helped me.