Topic: Artificial Intelligence

Blog archives

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• Using AI to Extract Structured Data From Markdown

  A video on how I'm using an LLM to extract metadata from unstructured Markdown files.

• Improving My Website Using AI

  The first video in a series on how I'm using AI to make changes to my ~1,300-page online home.

• 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.