Tinfoil hats and progress · The AI Advantage

Tinfoil hats and progress

Welp, I did it. I remember a few years ago when ChatGPT was just starting out and I kept thinking to myself, "No way. What they're saying they can do is too easy. It's gotta be cheating or something."

Did ChatGPT, then Claude, come up with any of the ideas, really? No... most of the conversation was more of the, "I have too many ideas and I don't know what to do first," variety.

"Please, Mr. Computerman... tell me what to do -- but that? Where you just told me where to start? I don't want to do that." What can I say? I'm pretty stubborn.

And then, at 1 am, after (too many) hours of hemming and hawing with myself, I told Claude the story that I used to tell my kids. The one I thought I remembered from when my mom told it to me, so very long ago (I remembered, just not perfectly, of course).

And hit enter.

And waited... longer than I thought I should have -- the screen timed out and all.

But then there was this half screen. This half screen of a children's book. Of the story that MY mom told me and I told to my own children. Formatted. Broken up into pages. Gently edited. With suggestions for illustrations.

My oldest turned 18 last year. And I have never gotten so far, never really saw the product. It was always just bouncing around in my head with the other 17 ideas. The story was mine... but the execution was a group effort.

OK, Mr. Robbins, Mr. Graziosi... I will take off my tinfoil hat and I will place both feet firmly into this century for a while.

See you tomorrow.

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