Hi again,

Ai, Ai, Ai — it’s all the rage. Those lowercase i’s I used here were out of lazy typing, but I actually kind of like it when I see it. It highlight's the Artificial part and names it with small i intelligence.

I use some kind of Ai everyday, including using ChatGPT throughout my work days. I understand what the environmental cost of this is now and will continue to be. I’m not sure how to think about that right now.

There are two Ai-related media items that caught my attention recently.

First was a clip of a recent Sam Altman interview in which he said:

That’s interesting to me, and I think it would be very interesting to think about this in terms of how nonprofits might be using or thinking about using Ai.

The second was a podcast about an author writing a sequel to the movie Contagion alongside Ai chatbots. That one I wrote a whole blog post about that I can share here: AI Doesn’t Deserve the Credit for Your Work​

This all rounds back for me to the concept of the Slow Tech Movement. We humans get to choose how we use Ai and automation tools. My argument is that we should examine our use of these technologies and be cautious about not using them to replace or try to expedite important human experiences such as relationship building, trust building, community building, and learning. These are things that take time for humans to do, and taking that time (instead of trying to speed it up) is the way we should move.

I use lots of technology in my life, including Ai and automation tools. But I try to be careful about not using them to speed up things that don’t need to be sped up, or to make my work a small percentage more “productive” (how much more productivity can we juice out of ourselves before we think of this in another way?). We’ve got the choices, we’ve actually got the power over how these technologies work and exist in our lives. It is the same power we have over machines or social media—turn them off or cancel your account and guess how much power they have? Yeah, none.

Coaching: Defeating Imposter Syndrome is coming back (Aug–Oct)​
I’m running another round of my group coaching program for folks in data and tech roles who want to move with more confidence—and less self-doubt.

Last round, we went deep. We created space for naming things people usually keep quiet. And it worked.

If this sounds like something you’ve been needing—or if someone you know might want in—reply and I’ll send details soon.

Personal: I’m letting my phone die slowly​
My phone is so broken it barely holds a charge or stays on.
But instead of rushing to replace it, I’m giving myself a few days with minimal access. Already I've had to apologize profusely for missing a phone call that I really wanted to have. But I've also written more in the last few days then I have in the last few months.

Thanks for reading. As always, I’d love to hear what’s on your mind.
Peace,
​Emily​
​maketechworkforyou.com​