Artificial Intelligence

Generative artificial intelligence is the most important new information technology since the World Wide Web. I'm exploring ways to help organizations and individuals create value using AI. I'm sharing what I learn here.

Workshops and Presentations

AI Hands-on: Beyond Chat
Learn to tap the power of generative AI beyond the chat box. Waitlist →

AI as a Thought Partner
A Rosenfeld Media seminar on using AI for personal knowledge management.

Projects and Experiments

Using Graph RAG for Information Architecture
How to use knowledge graphs with retrieval augmented generation (RAG) to organize large content repositories.

LLM-powered Content Tagging
An approach to re-categorizing large-scale content repositories, such as websites, using AI.

Using Embeddings to Group Content
An approach to finding patterns in content by having an LLM create an embeddings database.

LLMapper
An open source command-line tool that generates simple concept maps from Wikipedia pages.

LLMapper Skill
Gives Claude the ability to draw and manipulate concept maps, based on the earlier LLMapper CLI tool.

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Essays

• Open-Ended Sessions: Workflow Archaeology

  A conversation about how considered use of AI can help small and medium-sized businesses thrive.

• Book Notes: “Superagency”

  A compelling argument for a “glass half-full” approach to developing and deploying AI.

• The LLMapper Agent Skill

  A new Skill that gives Claude the ability to draw and manipulate concept maps.

• LLMs as Robot Arms

  How to deliver value by rearchitecting knowledge pipelines around AI constraints.

• Transcribe Handwriting Using a Local LLM

  How to turn handwritten notes into Markdown — on your computer.

• Tapping Into AI’s Conservatism

  AI favors established frameworks. Knowing that will change how you develop your information systems.

• Traction Heroes Ep. 15: AI for Leaders

  A conversation about the three key neurological qualities for leaders — and how AI might augment them.

• AI “Real Talk”: How Useful are AI Agents Right Now?

  An informal livestreamed conversation about a key AI concept.

• Automate the Boring

  Delegating tedious tasks to AI is the most strategic, feasible, and humane use of the technology today.

• Introducing unfinishe 

  Announcing a new strategic consultancy focused on helping small businesses make the most of AI.

• Using AI to Illuminate My Blind Spots

  ChatGPT helps me think about what I need to improve.

• Don't Let the Drawings Distract You: AI is Not About the Output

  AI’s real value isn’t in generating flashy outputs; it’s in making sense of unstructured information to support better decisions.

• AI is Probabilistic – That's Why It Needs Constraints

  Computers used to exclusively follow rules; now they generate possibilities. Combining both approaches maximizes their potential.

• The New Leverage: AI and the Power of Small Teams

  Doing more with less isn’t just possible — it’s the future of work.

• Book Notes: “A Thousand Brains”

  An intriguing new theory of intelligence offers insights on how we might design more effective thinking systems.

• Book Notes: “Co-Intelligence”

  If you're only going to read one book about AI, this is the one.

• Horsey Horseless and the Challenge of AI-native Products

  What a weird 19th century product can teach us about designing for disruptive technologies.

• The User Research Strategist Podcast

  My conversation with Nikki Anderson on how AI can help with research and information architecture.

• The Resurgence of Plain Text in the Age of AI

  Reflections on the advantages of plain text and why it matters when working with LLMs.

• Book Notes: “Nexus”

  Overview of a book that explores the impact of information networks on human history.

• The Informed Life with Karen McGrane

  Overview of a conversation about how generative AI might affect content management.

• Exploring the AI Solution Space

  Unlocking AI’s potential requires broadening our understanding of what’s possible.

• The Informed Life with Chris Risdon

  A conversation with a master service designer about the role of technology in delivering cohesive experiences.

• The Informed Life with Jodi Forlizzi

  A conversation with a distinguished practitioner and academic about the changing role of design in light of AI.

• Envisioning (Near-)Future IA Design

  On the differences between using AI for automation vs. augmentation — and why information architects should explore both.

• The Informed Life with Rachel Price

  A conversation about how information architects can help organizations use AI more responsibly.

• The GREW Model

  A framework for leveraging the power of generative AI while keeping human oversight.

• The Informed Life with Emily Campbell

  A conversation on why we need a pattern language for interactions with AI-powered systems.

• Why I'm Excited About Generative AI

  Generative models aren't sentient entities but advanced symbol manipulation tools with vast potential.

• Empowering Information Architecture with AI: Making It Real

  An approach to using AI to re-categorize content in a 1,200-page website.

• Information Architects Must Embrace AI

  While generative AI has downsides, it also has great potential — especially for information architecture.

• The Informed Life with Michael Anton Dila

  Overview of a conversation about a new initiative that aims to redefine AI governance through inclusivity.

• LLMapper: An AI Concept Mapping Tool

  Overview of my most recent experiment with AI: a tool for drawing concept maps from Wikipedia pages.

• Five Future Roles for Designers

  Possible career directions for designers working in an AI-driven world.

• Empowering Information Architecture with AI: A Practical Experiment

  Overview of an experiment of using LLMs to categorize and tag over a thousand blog posts.

• Reality Augmentation Field

  Apple’s new augmented reality platform will change how you interact with information.

• AI as Writing Partner

  LLMs can speed up the writing process. Here’s one way they can help.

• Artificial Intelligence for Information Architecture

  Looking beyond the AI hype to explore how LLMs might help us design better information architectures faster.

• The Informed Life with David Rose

  Summary of my interview with an ambient computing pioneer about augmented reality.

• Three Roles for Robots

  Examining different ways in which AI can augment your thinking.

• The Hair Metal Disclaimer

  New tools are changing how we create. How will you respond?

• Book Notes: “The Dream Machine”

  My overview of a biography of J.C.R. Licklider, a key figure in early computing history.

• AI-driven “Design”?

  A thought on the current state of ML-driven design tools.

• Book Notes: “The Alignment Problem”

  An overview of Brian Christian's book about machine learning and values.

• Machine Intelligence and the Design of Complex Systems

  On the balance between top-down direction and bottom-up emergence in the design of complex systems.

• Modeling for Automated Organization

  How AI helps organize videos with a clever use of vectors for deep, meaningful relationships.

• Challenges in Designing for Emerging Technologies

  Thoughts raised by a new video demonstrating direct neural control of software.

• Worth Your Attention

  Links for the week.

• Worth Your Attention

  Links for the week.

• Worth Your Attention

  Links for the week.

• Outlook Spaces

  How my old favorite feature in Entourage inspired Outlook’s new “Spaces” feature.

• Worth Your Attention

  Links for the week.

• A Year of Podcasting: Editing

  A description of the tools I used to edit my podcast during its first year.

• Reid Hoffman on Language, Big Tech, and Society

  How big tech’s language games shape society.

• The Informed Life With Mary Parks

  Delving into the hows and whats of voice interfaces.

• The Informed Life With Carol Smith

  An with researcher Carol Smith on the benefits, limitations, and potential dangers of AI technologies.

• Causes of (and Remedies for) Bias in AI

  On the potential of AI to identify and amplify human biases.

• Quantum Supremacy

  Google’s quantum leap could upend what computers can do.

• The Synthesizers In Charge

  On the challenge of integrating AI into our culture, with a historical perspective.

• Suggested Searches in Apple Photos

  Helping users find photos they might not know they're looking for.

• Artificial Intransigence

  Video streaming recommendation algorithms sometimes fall short.

• The Treachery of Deepfakes

  It's becoming harder to distinguish between reality and its representations in information environments.

• The Next Twenty Years

  On the shift in focus from connecting people to enhancing their online activities — and the changes this will bring.

• Something Real To Do

  How an iconic physicist and amateur enthusiasm pushed tech boundaries at a startup.

• The Tricorder on Your Wrist

  How the Apple Watch has evolved into a essential personal health device.

• Designing for “Smart” Agents Among Us

  The emergence of AI challenges us to rethink the impact of human-agent interactions.

• When Algorithms Know

  An algorithm saved my travel plans by rebooking my missed flight without hassle.

• What Are You Working On?

  How asking designers “what are you working on?” reveals their values and engagement.

• Book Notes: "Dawn of the New Everything"

  Lanier's memoir intermingles VR's history with a philosophical take on tech's role in enhancing our humanity.

• Talking With the Information Machines

  Users can struggle as they adapt to novel semantic environments.

• Book Notes: "Technically Wrong"

  Cautionary tales about how biases in tech design embed social rifts.

• Book Notes: "WTF?"

  Tim O'Reilly argues that our choices in deploying technology will shape our ethical future.

Podcasts