Meaning, Journaling, and the Three Acts of AI

Sometimes I think about whether any of this really has meaning, worth, or value.

I’ve been journaling for some time, and this is very new — an LLM-automated pipeline journaling system, and not just that, a public one.

I don’t know what the result of this could be — a job? Fame and fortune? Heck, maybe one day it will be in a museum as a “Live AI John” that mentees can use to speak to me — or should I say, a digital version of me.

Journaling is very hard because at times it seems like there is no point to it. But in doing so, I’ve found interesting results. Things become of value. An idea written down isn’t lost — it’s there. It’s like a to-do list, or that person you adore who annoyingly keeps providing the cues you need but frankly don’t want, even though you know deep down it’s very much needed.

The idea that everything happens in threes is an interesting thought:

• If you get bad luck, it happens in threes, so watch out!
• The past, present, and future.
• The most structurally sound shape — a triangle.

It makes me wonder if this is also happening in the world of technological change. The first stage seems to have dwindled. LLMs are slowly becoming ubiquitous. Gone are the days when I was trying to sell ChatGPT to people: “Just speak with it and ask it to make you a plan for the week.” Now it seems to be like the Google of the past — “Just Google it” has become “Have you asked AI?”

Now it seems that we are in the second act, shall we say, of AI development, where everyone, every service, everything is shaping around this technology.

I’ve found that the general user interface is also changing. Buttons are disappearing and turning into a simple black screen with the question: “How can I help you?”

LinkedIn, Reddit, and any forms of social media just seem to be filled with AI outputs — which I’m not against, but it makes me wonder.

Let’s talk about Act III. Where are we going?

Now, I like to put myself forward as a Singularitarian. Yes, Mr. Kurzweil’s book really had a profound effect on me. However, my point of view has very much been that of a tinkerer, as my father always said — one who would dismantle something just to see if I can put it back together. (P.S. Don’t cut a capacitor, no matter if you find an old camera that hasn’t been used for years… it might just explode on you…)

That question “How can I help?” is very interesting. Having spoken with my little brother, he asked me: “How should I treat this AI?” My best answer is as an Oracle or a Librarian — one with an unlimited number of knowledge. Access to key knowledge went from going to the library, finding the book, digesting that book, and developing your own critical thinking, into a simple ubiquitous question: “How can I help?”

This also highlights the difference: the act of thinking in itself is a skill. Thinking from my own understanding is not easy. Several people I meet and speak with about deep topics from philosophy, maths, arts and such just shut me down — “I don’t want to think about that, John.”

So now this is where the dichotomy of seeking answers versus searching for answers seems to be the next act of AI.

A fantastic proverb I live by is “Seek and you shall find.” But what happens when “Seek” is changed to “told”? “Told and you shall do?”

I believe that real education in technology is very much important here. To teach the future that using technology as a tool is the way forward. Sure, we all have those human days where we just want to relax and say “tell me the answer to X, whatever that may be.” However, to really think — that’s where the real battle will arise.

This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, which itself has been half-quoted because the second half has been ignored:

“Ignorance is bliss… until reality hits.”