Summary: Both ChatGPT and Grok do an amazing job at providing feedback on the text of a novel, but ChatGPT seems to fail with manuscripts above about 20,000 words. I’m working on a novel, and ChatGPT has been my companion / editor / fact checker the whole way. (Yes, of course I check AI’s facts.)…
Summary: Here’s a simple, practical example of how businesses can use AI right now: turning existing content into engaging audio podcasts using tools like Google’s NotebookLM. How are you using AI in your business today? If your answer is “not much,” or “I’m not sure where to start,” you’re not alone. A lot of business…
Summary: What ChatGPT and other AI services are doing is immoral and illegal, but nobody is going to stop them because they have the perfect defense. “If we don’t do it, China will.” Copyright vests in the creator from the moment of creation. You don’t need to register it, publish it, add a copyright symbol,…
Summary: AI is much more advanced and scarier than you think it is. Here’s a small example from a conversation I had with it last night. I’ve seen a lot of creative people trying to convince themselves and others that AI isn’t a real threat because, you know, it hallucinates, and it misuses em dashes…
Summary: ChatGPT sometimes fails math-based questions because it defaults to text pattern-matching. To get better answers, explicitly instruct it to calculate, provide structured data, and verify its responses. ChatGPT Fails Catechism Class! I learned something interesting about the way ChatGPT processes information that might help you get better results when using AI tools. A friend…
Summary: Choosing the right words can make all the difference in communication. You can use ChatGPT to analyze relationships between words and phrases to find just the right word to convey the sense and the tone you choose. “Those are good words,” she told me. That phrase stuck with me. I was having a conversation…
Summary: Artificial General Intelligence promises progress in many ways but also poses serious risks, including manipulation, job loss, and loss of control over our destiny. We seem to have two choices: halt AGI now or risk an unstoppable force that will dominate our future. You wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee made…
Summary: Listening to Beowulf exposes you to “kennings,” which are vivid, unexpected expressions — usually a pair of words — that put a different spin on a name or concept. Unlike AI’s predictable phrasing, creative language like kennings breaks linguistic patterns, making content more engaging, memorable, and uniquely human. While I was heating the pan…
Summary: The entire body of “fair use” law assumes human actors. It should not be applied to AI systems without modification. I saw some discussion on LinkedIn about applying the concept of fair use to AI systems like ChatGPT. Fair use is a legal doctrine under U.S. copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted…
Summary: AI struggles with relevance realization, a human ability to prioritize meaning across contexts. Businesses should evaluate AI systems’ relevance handling, integrate human feedback, and ensure human support for key interactions. In the beginning of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” Evelyn Greenslade (played by Judi Dench) has just lost her husband. In the midst of…
(I just noticed that the lady on the right has three legs! Thanks, Midjourney!) Summary: Computers don’t understand relevance, and it’s unlikely they will any time soon. “Relevance realization” is what sets humans apart from AI, and “general artificial intelligence” won’t happen until someone solves this. Remember that fun video where the kids are throwing…
Summary: AI agents will revolutionize the entire content industry by allowing users to customize and access content in their preferred format — whether text, audio, or video. AI will also manage complex licensing agreements, which means that publishers must adapt to protect and monetize their content in this new landscape. The entire process of content…
Summary: Search is following the print trajectory and will soon be replaced by AI agents. This has big implications for content creators. I love tea. I love the bitterness and the astringency. I love the aroma. I love that it has no calories. And yes, I love the caffeine, although caffeine doesn’t love me. I’ve…
Summary: AI is a useful tool, but, just like journalists, it has its biases. Here are some tools to get past the AI superego and get more useful information. Cold: Would AI have moderated the Trump-Harris debate better than the folks from ABC? I usually avoid political topics on this podcast, but it’s Friday the…
Summary: AI summaries of books and articles present a copyright threat to publishers, but a wider movement towards summaries and bullet points might have more significance for culture and for understanding. Bo Sacks recently distributed an article titled, “A tech sector dedicated to boiling things down has raised temperatures in some quarters of the publishing…