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Today I’d like to talk a bit about a conversation of sorts that happened recently between Cory Doctorow and tante (from Smashing Frames). Actually it’s not really about the conversation, although I do recommend it (there are four articles: 1, 2, 3 and 4), but rather its subject. The topic at hand is, again, AI. And more specifically the following question: should we accept its usage at all? Or do we have some kind of moral obligation to avoid it AI at all costs, given the very real and documented harms it caused and is still causing today? And if that’s the case, then what about all the people around us who do make use of it? ...

Foreword: this article probably doesn’t reflect what I think very well, or at least it doesn’t reflect the entirety of what I think. Yet here it is, as a snapshot of my current thoughts. Although I don’t believe I will disown them very soon - if ever -, they will probably keep evolving. Please keep this in mind while reading. (Also english is not my first language, so there’s that too.) ...

Silicon valley and “neo-neoplatonism” In this article by the belgian blogger Ploum, he argues quite strongly against platonism and neoplatonism, philosophies that separate the physical world from the “world of ideas” and placing the latter hierarchicaly above1. Mister Ploum has himself quite the opposite stance: do we shape our thoughts, or are they shaping us? When you think about it (ha), it’s hard to argue that every action is preceded by much thought, if at all. It’s also hard to argue that your thinking is wholly detached from the material world and the experience you have of it. Like, if I’m writing right now it’s not quite only because I decided it; mostly, it’s because my thoughts and the values and principles I hold dear make me do this choice. If I did have a choice2 here, I would probably be doing something else. Something easier and more immediately rewarding, probably. ...

Don’t mind me, I’m just trying to figure out a way to write (and, more importantly, publish) more regularly. And as I’m trying to stay curious and read a little bit every day, an idea came to mind: why not start by trying to share some of that reading? I would at least get a history of interesting articles, which is probably nice anyway. Centaurs and reverse centaurs Over on Cory Doctorow’s blog (you know him at least as the enshitification guy), I learned about centaurs and reverse centaurs. Those are automation theory concepts; a centaur is a machine-assisted humain, while a reverse-centaur is a machine-assisting human, someone who isn’t served by but themselves serve the machine. You might think of Chaplin in Modern Times, but this is very much happening right now, especially with AI. And it’s unlikely to stop with how much of it is shoved down our throats, at least as long as the bubble lasts. ...

I know nothing about blogs, blogging or being a blogger, at least nothing more than expected from a digital native. I’ve also barely ever posted on social media and have a few (dozen) projects already taking up my mental (and sometimes physical) space, but here I am adding one more to the pile - and this time it’s even public! So… why? Why am I doing this and pretending that you should too? ...