I read
Still trying to figure out the boundaries of these tools' strengths without outsourcing important thinking, problem-solving, and the collective building-up of a mental model of the systems we're developing.
The shape of LLM tools as toolsโfit for a purpose, ergonomicโis becoming clearer, and human patterns of behavior with them that do more harm than good are also becoming easier to recognize.
Any conversation
I got jumpscared by the moon rising because itโs visible from where Iโm sitting and itโs huge.
I love full moon. It does something to me.
This #tome about #Tcl/Tk has me re-evaluating my plans to move to the woods to be a carpenter hermit.
Now I want to move to the woods and be a programmer hermit.
(Opinion) People donโt like generative AI because it made the {insert creativity} too easy. Saw the HN post on โAI music banned from top 40 chart in Australiaโ and people had very strong opinions in both directions.
The hot take: If youโre ok with someoneโs creativity being outsourced to others, then you should be ok with AI doing the same.
If โAI made this and I call it mineโ is bad but โsomeone overseas on fivver made this and I call it mineโ and itโs suddenly ok, time to self reflect.
โฆ
My hot take: from the moment you use technology, be it an instrument, a synthesizer, a DAW, and now AI, it is still your idea, your effort, your time spent, and that makes it yours. Others can do the same if they choose. The same way someone chooses a classic guitar over a synthesizer, one can choose an AI over (insert ancient way of doing things).
โฆ
Youโre rolling the dice whenever you are searching for a sample or a preset in a synthesizer. Eventually itโs what โsounds goodโ, so still the effort is your judgement and the time spent finding that โdice rollโ that sounded well.
I am not a musician, so I lack the jargon to properly explain what I mean.
I used AI for creative writing (nothing too fancy, TTRPG). There, the broader the dice roll, the more generic and uninteresting the results. Slop, if you will. It was surprisingly good to build up on ideas I had however.
I imagine muisic also has building blocks. Melodies, instruments, mixing, etc. AI can perhaps be used in a similar fashion there.
I heard a perspective I sort of like: if AI is a tool then acceptable AI use is, more or less, defined as "when my audience no longer notices or cares". It's dynamic like that. Bad photoshop is detectable and annoying, so are overusing presets. Your artistry needs to expand to meet the tool.
I don't know if I 100% like that or agree. At the same time, it's a pretty straightforward line, a practical take.
My Country is On Fire
mataherry.bearblog.dev/my-country-is-on-fire/
Testing this quiet corner of the web. I collect small notes about everyday tools ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ file formats, tiny utilities, offline workflows. First post is just a hello; longer notes will follow once I settle in. Plain text feels good after years of heavy editors.
I subscribe to the Tony Stark school of engineering. "Sometimes you have to run before you walk." Earlier this year, I built my own static site generator. I hate literally every static site generator out there (not joking). get-taxus.org