understand and speak up

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On the last Friday of each month I curate some of the observations and insights that were shared on social media. I call these Friday’s Finds.

Note: Regular readers may have noticed that my blog posts are rather infrequent at this time. I am taking a break from blogging through the Summer and intend to be back this Autumn. There are over 3,500 older posts always available to peruse here.

“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” —Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD)

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road kill

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On the last Friday of each month I curate some of the observations and insights that were shared on social media. I call these Friday’s Finds.

“Q. You know what AI is best at?

A. Propaganda”
—@GeorgeSnorwell

“I saw a post that asked: why is divestment political but investment is not? And I can’t stop thinking about it.” —@JackieGardina

“When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck; when you invent the plane you also invent the plane crash; and when you invent electricity, you invent electrocution … Every technology carries its own negativity, which is invented at the same time as technical progress.” —Paul Virilio, Philippe Petit, Sylvère Lotringer (1999) Politics of the Very Worst

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another earth day

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On the last Friday of each month I curate some of the observations and insights that were shared on social media. I call these Friday’s Finds.

“Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect: like a man, who hath thought of a good repartee when the discourse is changed, or the company parted; or like a physician, who hath found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead.” —Jonathan Swift, via Ron Dyck

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the bad & the ugly

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The capitalist AI future is bullshit by design — AKA ‘mansplaining as a service’.

“Today’s highly-hyped generative AI systems (most famously OpenAI) are designed to generate bullshit by design. To be clear, bullshit can sometimes be useful, and even accidentally correct, but that doesn’t keep it from being bullshit. Worse, these systems are not meant to generate consistent bullshit — you can get different bullshit answers from the same prompts.” —Anil Dash 2023

What are the benefits of AI adoption in organizations? Not good for many workers it seems.

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rebuilding trust

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“Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again.” —André Gide (1869–1951)

How do we rebuild trust in expertise in a world filled with conspiracy theories and distrust of institutions?

Experts and leaders have to shift their values toward transparency, honesty, and humility in their communications and actions, being upfront about the limitations and uncertainties of their knowledge, acknowledging mistakes and failures when they occur, and being open to feedback and critiques. By showing that they are not infallible or above accountability, experts can help to dispel the perception of elitism and disconnection from the public.” —Joan Westenberg 2024-04-09

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our sovereign territory

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Joan Westenberg promotes the idea of POSSE (publish on your own site & syndicate elsewhere) or what I have called social media’s home base — blogs. This may be just another blog, but it’s mine. Westenberg also promotes real simple syndication (RSS). So do I. Therefore, the idea that, “curation is the last hope of intelligent discourse” resonated with me.

As algorithms churn out vast quantities of information with varying degrees of accuracy and quality, the discerning judgment of human curators is the only defence against the tide of misinformation and mediocrity. Human curators bring nuanced understanding, contextual awareness, and ethical judgment to the table—qualities that AI, in its current state, is fundamentally unable to replicate.

Human curators can distinguish between nuanced arguments, recognise cultural subtleties, and evaluate the credibility of sources in ways that algorithms cannot. This human touch is essential for maintaining the integrity of our information ecosystem. It serves not only as a filter for quality but also as a signal for meaningful and trustworthy content amidst the overwhelming noise generated by AI systems. —Joan Westenberg 2024-01-10

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liquid leadership

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In a digitally interconnected world, those in positions of leadership should focus on helping their networks become smarter, more resilient, and able to make better decisions. Networks move information faster than institutions or markets. While the Cluetrain Manifesto (1999) stated that markets are conversations, today networks are memes that spread instantaneously, without conversation. The borderless and liquid transmission of information makes for a global oral cacophony.

After four years, no government has stepped-up to make us smarter in dealing with the SARS-2 virus. The pandemic continues and people keep dying and more people are condemned to live with the still incurable Long Covid.

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bamboozled 2024

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On the last Friday of each month I curate some of the observations and insights that were shared on social media. I call these Friday’s Finds.

“Definition: Conspiracy Theory
—A belief that the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community, who have spent their lives researching the subject, missed something you figured out in two minutes due to your superior Google researching skills.” —Meanwhile in Canada

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” —Carl Sagan (1995) The Demon-haunted World

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PKM Summit

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I just presented at the first annual European PKM Summit, with a formal presentation yesterday and a casual chat today. Next year’s summit is scheduled for 14/15 March 2025. Some of what I covered is posted at 20 years of PKM. I mentioned several projects and resources which are available on this site.

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just another blog

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I write this blog mostly for myself, though it’s great to have people join in and create conversations.

“But there’s also a part of writing, of online writing particularly, blogging, that’s all the humble without the security, that’s full of risk, that’s vulnerable even if what you’re saying isn’t necessarily personal or deeply meaningful or anything you or anyone else even really cares about. This thing we do, blogging, is crazy. Really. What a trip, what a concept, what an experience. It’s a place where the public share is instant and your little words can tromp their way across the world before you have time to regret it.”—Annie Mueller

I highly recommend reading all of Annie’s blog post — it’s just a blog (thanks to Euan Semple and Chris Corrigan for highlighting Annie’s work)

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