Most people seem to have this vague idea that science advances when a new theory comes along that explains the facts better. The new theory is so compelling, or so we imagine, that people abandon the old orthodoxy and adopt the new one. Following the facts, and all that sciency stuff. According to Thomas Kuhn’s…
There are a lot of liars in the world — but even more common than lies are mistaken assumptions. Not every falsehood is a deliberate deception. Many of the things we get wrong come from ideas we never thought to question. A well-calibrated BS detector doesn’t doesn’t only look for lies — it detects lazy…
Modern digital tools have perfected the art of interruption, but they’ve left untapped a major opportunity: words on paper. In a world where inboxes are a cluttered battlefield, the physical mailbox offers a peaceful, premium refuge. That’s why, a few years ago, I decided to try something old-fashioned: a monthly printed newsletter for my clients…
A post on LinkedIn lamented that “92% of people never act on their ideas.” My immediate reaction was, “that’s probably good because 95% of ideas are dumb.” I admit that I wasn’t participating in the spirit of the post, which was to encourage people to stop dreaming and do something, which is often thought to…
One overlooked aspect of audience engagement is “trust anchors” — the foundations people rely on to interpret information, such as science, authority, community, or lived experience. To get better engagement with your audience, identify and align your trust anchors with the ones used by your audience. Charlie Kirk is either a hero or a villain,…
I’ve been told that this article is genius. That it’s prophetic. I’ve been told that it’s overly dramatic. I’ve also been told that it’s unquestionably true, and that publishing it will ruin my career. Okay. It still needs to be said. AI will create a horrendous unemployment problem by eliminating millions of human jobs. Self-driving…
The following is taken from one of Bo Sacks’ recent emails. The image above is not real — it’s from ChatGPT. BoSacks Speaks Out: Greg Krehbiel is one of those media professionals who always makes you think, whether you agree with him or not. On his LinkedIn page, he describes his work this way: “I…
Summary: Modern technology often delivers real improvements, but the benefits come with hidden costs and new hassles for consumers. What used to be simple and free now lives behind subscriptions, inside special gadgets, with recurring fees that leave us wondering whether “better” is really better. I’m a Redskins fan. My best friend is a Ravens…
Summary: The culture and publishing go through cycles: vitality, excess, decline, collapse, and eventual revival. Renewal is already stirring. There are hopeful signs: a shift away from ad-supported free content, the rise of new media and podcasts, ongoing experimentation similar to early newsletter days, and the potential of AI as a helpful tool. The September…
Back in my day, high schools offered driver’s ed as a class. At my school, we had this hi-tech (for the 70s) training regime where everybody sat in a car simulator and reacted to a movie, which was a driver’s view perspective of a trip through a city, merging onto a highway, etc. We were…
Our third child was born with a broken collar bone. I was sure it was because the doctor was a little too aggressive in trying to get her out, and I was angry about it. Then I had a chat with a nurse friend. She said, “You don’t know what that doctor has been through…
The expectation that we would get to “general artificial intelligence” soon has hit a rough patch as AI models aren’t progressing as fast as the tech titans wanted. But — I keep seeing articles and comments that the “promised Utopia” hasn’t arrived. Who promised Utopia? From what I remember, AI was going to give us…
“Engagement” is so universally praised in the media space that it’s easy to miss an important distinction between types of engagement. Specifically, is the publisher pursuing engagement exclusively for its own bottom line, or for the consumer’s enrichment? As I’ll explain further below, it’s not always one or the other, but studying the distinctions can…
[This is the main article from the August issue of The Krehbiel Letter.] I keep hearing that AI will steal jobs, but also that AI-generated content is substandard, and humans are still better at …. something. That’s the theme of this month’s issue. Where do humans fit in as AI takes over? Hope for humans…
[This is the July issue of The Krehbiel Letter.] Yes, AI lies and deceives We’ve all heard the stories about AI systems doing dastardly things. In a recent example, an AI system resisted instructions to shut down. In other cases, LLMs have deceived their users to attain some other goal. These kinds of stories scare…