It is a most insightful, meaningful and comprehensive collection of thoughts on what AI means for serving human dignity and the common good, and the roles all of us play in designing the future.
And while you can use AI to digest this essay for you, I would encourage you to take time and read it with full human capabilities.
…human dignity and the common good must never be violated for the sake of efficiency, for “technological developments that do not lead to an improvement in the quality of life of all humanity, but on the contrary, aggravate inequalities and conflicts, can never count as true progress.” Instead, AI should be put “at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral.
Therefore, the ends and the means used in a given application of AI, as well as the overall vision it incorporates, must all be evaluated to ensure they respect human dignity and promote the common good.
Saint John Paul II observed that “humanity now has instruments of unprecedented power: we can turn this world into a garden, or reduce it to a pile of rubble.”
As return to office makes the headlines, there is a new hybrid in the works.
Human + Agentic Teams – HAT
(courtesy of yours truly)
Having spent the day in NYC hearing about all things AI, the dawn of the new hybrid is here.
Today’s food for thought –
Oversharing is a problem everywhere, not just on social media, but also at work
Success of agentic teams will still ultimately rely on humans (for now)
Understanding human behavior is key to change
ps. On my way back to Grand Central via the 7, us riders were unceremoniously kicked off after only a couple of stops due to an unauthorized person on the tracks…which resulted in a nice brisk midtown walk leading to an encounter with Antonio Pio Saracino’s The Guardian: Superhero. Seems a fitting representation!
As Thanksgiving comes around (in the US at least), so do year-end reflections, whether it be for work or personal reasons. As my memory seems to get hazier these days (I learned brain fog can be a symptom…), again the importance of making notes to self regularly.
Capture the significance of events while in the moment.
As time goes on, people forget the impact, the details, that happened during that time.
The faintest pencil is better than the sharpest memory. – Chinese proverb
Remember why plans were made.
We often make plans with current thinking in mind. As time goes on before fruition of those plans, many changes can happen and we often question whether the plan is still wise and why we decided on it in the first place.
And that’s where the importance of dialogue comes in. Written words won’t replace dialogue. In the age of GenAI, where almost anything can be had in written format instantaneously and give a false sense of understanding, it is the human mind that still needs to better understand through dialogue with others.
SOCRATES: You know, Phaedrus, writing shares a strange feature with painting. The offsprings of painting stand there as if they are alive, but if anyone asks them anything, they remain most solemnly silent. The same is true of written words. You’d think they were speaking as if they had some understanding, but if you question anything that has been said because you want to learn more, it continues to signify just that very same thing forever. When it has once been written down, every discourse roams about everywhere, reaching indiscriminately those with understanding no less than those who have no business with it, and it doesn’t know to whom it should speak and to whom it should not. And when it is faulted and attacked unfairly, it always needs its father’s support; alone, it can neither defend itself nor come to its own support.
Most people fall into one end of the spectrum when hearing these 2 letters. One side goes to the HI (human intelligence) end, and the other goes to the yes, AI is salvAItion!
When I first heard of ChatGPT, I fell into the HI side despite not even trying ChatGPT. I had no idea what it really did nor was I that interested. Fast forward to early 2024 and our organization has now rolled out Copilot. OK, big deal? Now what? Little did I know in leading this change, I was also leading myself to the other side, although I’m still in the somewhat moderate camp as we figure out the grey areas. Techwise, timing wasn’t too behind as it seems that friends don’t let friends use GPT 3.5 (and we are now on GPT 4)
So what led to this 180 or rather 135? In bringing myself up to speed, it turns out that having more information makes it easier to go from one dot to another without having to take giant leaps of fAIth. Imagine these giant lilypads spread quite apart from each other making it hard to reach. However, once you start learning about the mechanisms of Gen AI, seeing specific examples of what it can and cannot do, it’s as if these additional smaller lilypads appear in between making it easier to get to that next giant lilypad.
Curious about Gen AI? Here are my small lilypads –
Start with How to research and write using Generative AI tools. Dave is engaging and really goes into specifics which helps people connect with what they can really do with the tool. I liken it to staging a house. Some people get the overall potential and concept of an empty house, while others need that staging to bring the house to life. Taking it further, others need staging that is very specific to their tastes to make that personal connection.
We can’t bury our heads in the sand and pretend that GenAI doesn’t exist. Better to be informed and realize the implications, and when in the position to do so, advocate for the common good.
A great visual article on the overview of how Gen AI works. You’ll see why this process consumes so much energy – that’s another discussion unto itself…
The Gen AI Pandora’s box has been opened, find out what’s in it…
PS. I see a lot of posts about using GenAI for business but not a lot geared towards educators. It’s probably just my feed, however if you are a teacher or know those who are, it’s even more imperative that educators understand what this means in the learning space and how to ensure that students are still activating their own mental capacities. So no time like the present to rip off that band aid and find out the next generation is doing with GenAI.
Image generated by Copilot. Prompt: Can you create an image of a pond with big lilypad milestones and few smaller lilypads in between. Have a couple of frogs leaping between lilypads. Make it watercolor like, sunny, blue skies, vibrant colors.
We talked earlier about the 5Es of change – Enlighten, Enlist, Enable, Energize, Elevate
Let’s go into Enable a little bit more… an HBR article notes that if you don’t apply what you learn, you’ll forget 75% of it after just 6 days! Which is why it’s not enough to conduct a training and assume that everyone is ready to take off. It’s possible that you’ll have a few people that only need a tiny spark to set them blasting off into space. However, most of us are like seeds that need lots of watering, sunlight, vitamins and all that good stuff to blossom and grow. Some us aren’t too keen on too much water and sunlight. To each their own. The point is to bring more success to change, we need our latest acronym SEED – which Copilot helped me come up with this time!
SOW – plant the ideas of what could be ENRICHMENT – provide people with the right environment <- super important, many different types of people so a one-size fits all learning model is challenging EDUCATION – show people how to use and adapt to the new tools continuously <- again, many learning styles which means trainers need to present materials in different ways DEVELOPMENT – watch them blossom and grow over time
And you know what else helps plants grow and bear fruit? Other plants! We need to see and hear others do it as well. Peer pressure, cross-pollination, it’s quite the reinforcement. Or as Teenage Fanclub would say, Bandwagonesque.
Some random musings once more on this lovely spring day of hope and renewal.
As I’m currently reading “Continuous Discovery Habits” by Teresa Torres, thanks to the recommendation of Matthew Roche’s latest blog post (highly recommend this blog especially if you are in the techy space, and even if you’re not), I started thinking about Lent, fasting, Easter versus outputs and outcomes.
Typically, there are items given up during lent, but what does it really mean? How does giving up coffee make one a better person? Not to say that it doesn’t, but it’s important to give this some more thought as to what impact it can have for the positive. Perhaps the money towards coffee was used towards charitable purposes instead. While this can be good, it is also a short-term proposition as normal habits are resumed after the Lenten season is over. Lenten promises would be better served should their impact continue past the 40 days. Give up negative habits such as gossip, and maybe by the end of the 40 days it becomes second nature. Also, let’s point out that the 40 days Lenten fast in fact do not include Sundays! My mind was a bit blown when I came across this some years ago. I do think it’s quite helpful in developing good habits knowing that you could break up the 40 days into 6 day increments if needed.
Similar concepts exist in Girl Scouts – what is the difference between community service and take action? Community service projects are essential where girls learn how to use their time and resources to temporarily improve a situation, ie. park clean up, food drive. Take Action projects on the other hand have the added feature of having sustainable solutions, while community service projects can just be philanthropic actions.
In the work environment, we have outputs and outcomes – a main topic in Teresa Torres’ book. It’s important to understand that outputs in themselves are not enough. What did those outputs positively and sustainably enable? If an objective equals bonus, that objective should have a sustainable long-term positive effect.
And as part of the joy of continuous discoveries, today I came across this painting by Swiss artist Eugène Burnand.
The Disciples Peter and John running to the sepulchre on the morning of the Resurrection
