Philosophy Mondays: Human-AI Collaboration
Today's Philosophy Monday is an important interlude. I want to reveal that I have not been writing the posts in this series entirely by myself. Instead I have been working with Claude, not just for the graphic illustrations, but also for the text. My method has been to write a rough draft and then ask Claude for improvement suggestions. I will expand this collaboration to other intelligences going forward, including open source models such as Llama and DeepSeek. I will also explore other moda...
Intent-based Collaboration Environments
AI Native IDEs for Code, Engineering, Science
Philosophy Mondays: Human-AI Collaboration
Today's Philosophy Monday is an important interlude. I want to reveal that I have not been writing the posts in this series entirely by myself. Instead I have been working with Claude, not just for the graphic illustrations, but also for the text. My method has been to write a rough draft and then ask Claude for improvement suggestions. I will expand this collaboration to other intelligences going forward, including open source models such as Llama and DeepSeek. I will also explore other moda...
Intent-based Collaboration Environments
AI Native IDEs for Code, Engineering, Science
Web3/Crypto: Why Bother?
One thing that keeps surprising me is how quite a few people see absolutely nothing redeeming in web3 (née crypto). Maybe this is their genuine belief. Maybe it is a reaction to the extreme boosterism of some proponents who present web3 as bringing about a libertarian nirvana. From early on I have tried to provide a more rounded perspective, pointing to both the good and the bad that can come from it as in my talks at the Blockstack Summits. Today, however, I want to attempt to provide a coge...
Web3/Crypto: Why Bother?
One thing that keeps surprising me is how quite a few people see absolutely nothing redeeming in web3 (née crypto). Maybe this is their genuine belief. Maybe it is a reaction to the extreme boosterism of some proponents who present web3 as bringing about a libertarian nirvana. From early on I have tried to provide a more rounded perspective, pointing to both the good and the bad that can come from it as in my talks at the Blockstack Summits. Today, however, I want to attempt to provide a coge...
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Today: a few thoughts on voting. First and most important: go vote. Democracy does not work when citizens don’t vote. Voting is full of paradoxes. Maybe the biggest one of all is that after the fact a lot of votes won’t matter, but that is only after the fact. It is the very act of voting that establishes that fact in the first place. So ex ante every vote matters!
A bunch of people in my twitter feed have complained about the US presidential election system. And yes there are problems with it and I would love to see us innovate on democracy. But a lot of the criticism about having just two parties is somewhat misguided. Proportional voting systems have their own issues which are often more severe. Anyone who has lived in a country in which a small party has exerted huge influence, by virtue of being needed to form a coalition government, can attest to that.
The key feature of democracy when compared to other forms of government is that it allows for a peaceful transition of government through voting. Conversely, without it the vector for change is almost always violence. The non-violent change aspect of democracy is why Trump’s allegations that the election is rigged are so pernicious. They undermine the credibility of the outcome and open the door for violence.
So yes, you may feel unhappy about the choice between Trump and Hillary. And you may wish there was another candidate who matters, but there isn’t. None of that is an excuse for not voting. Not voting is the same as voting for the candidate you like the least. Now try to picture how you will feel the morning after the election if Trump is the next president of the United States and you didn’t go vote.
Go vote!
Today: a few thoughts on voting. First and most important: go vote. Democracy does not work when citizens don’t vote. Voting is full of paradoxes. Maybe the biggest one of all is that after the fact a lot of votes won’t matter, but that is only after the fact. It is the very act of voting that establishes that fact in the first place. So ex ante every vote matters!
A bunch of people in my twitter feed have complained about the US presidential election system. And yes there are problems with it and I would love to see us innovate on democracy. But a lot of the criticism about having just two parties is somewhat misguided. Proportional voting systems have their own issues which are often more severe. Anyone who has lived in a country in which a small party has exerted huge influence, by virtue of being needed to form a coalition government, can attest to that.
The key feature of democracy when compared to other forms of government is that it allows for a peaceful transition of government through voting. Conversely, without it the vector for change is almost always violence. The non-violent change aspect of democracy is why Trump’s allegations that the election is rigged are so pernicious. They undermine the credibility of the outcome and open the door for violence.
So yes, you may feel unhappy about the choice between Trump and Hillary. And you may wish there was another candidate who matters, but there isn’t. None of that is an excuse for not voting. Not voting is the same as voting for the candidate you like the least. Now try to picture how you will feel the morning after the election if Trump is the next president of the United States and you didn’t go vote.
Go vote!
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