AI and Phantom Limb

Mar 01, 2024

Just spent two hours talking with my friend about philosophy, AI, and phantom limb. The topic is very deep, and both of us completely dove into what we have been thinking about these days. The conversation is interesting to me, and I think it’s worth sharing.

Image generation AI came together 20 years ago

This is an imaginative experiment he mentioned during the conversation. We were contemplating the trend and what I believe should be the future of generative AI (I will talk more about this in the upcoming series). The experiment is used to support his idea around the trend of gen AI, which is the “Content thirsty due to short form storytelling.”

In short, he thinks content creation platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts mature the needs of gen AI. We are in the first era of human society where content is so important.

The phantom limb

We were discussing how we should identify real and fake information in the future when gen AI replaces most of our daily content exposure. I mentioned the phantom limb issue, imagining a world where the boundary between fake and real is so diluted that we need special treatment to address human illness. What if we are entering an era where the diseases we have, whether mental or physical, are no longer clear?

The dilemma of product building

I shared my frustration about the current trending way of product building. The echo of all the builders is identical, shouting about MVP and the agile method. I think the definition of MVP should be changed. It can no longer be a subpar product like before. It needs to be good, executed nicely from day one.

Products led by non-programmers

We are both fascinated by Linear. It’s such a unique product. And we began to think about these great creators. Most of them do not come from a technology background. Even if they do, they can think outside the perspective of a programmer.

In the tech industry, we too easily conclude that tech founders are kings. Maybe at the start they are, but right now, at this stage of the tech industry, I am not so sure anymore.