We seem to forget that even before AI, human beings were already deeply integrated into society, and labor was divided to the point that almost no one could do anything entirely from scratch. Can anyone really “make” their own food? Imagine having to source the salt, hunt the meat, grow the vegetables, and then make the tools needed to do all of that. AI is just the extreme case of a trend that was already in motion.
OK, be honest - did AI write the lion's share of that post for you, or just a grammar check, or perhaps a spell check only ? ;-) No judgment. Useful, aren't they ... I work as a Civil Engineer and have done for 30 years; I know enough to sanity-check what an AI produces. And to be thankful for the work they do... I feel like the real risk is around the young engineers who don't have the experience to know otherwise and are just starting to come through the educational sausage machine now and who rely on LLMs for seemingly everything.
And here I thought I was the only one who felt like falling behind. Be it in my academic career or life in general. Now I finally found a balanced approach. I only use AI as my assistant. I produce and it perfects and corrects my human mistakes, and it simultaneously teaches me and makes me live up to higher expectations to which my brain adapts. But I NEVER rely on it in the creative side of the work, even if the work me longer than my colleagues.
I wonder if Ivan Illich viewed the Catholic Church as a tool that served him, but not as well as his own intellect. This excellent article implies he found a superior tool, one faster, more precise, less prone to error. He remained a competent theologian, but found a better technology in his quest for God.
Of course, you raise a legitimate question, and I wish I had the time or energy to read every biography referenced in a Substack article. I meant the post to be understood as a hypothesis or speculation. However, I find Ivan Ilyich intriguing enough to examine that biography. Thank you for your observation. If you’ve read the biography, I’m interested in how you view Ivan Ilich's life, work, and intellect.
We seem to forget that even before AI, human beings were already deeply integrated into society, and labor was divided to the point that almost no one could do anything entirely from scratch. Can anyone really “make” their own food? Imagine having to source the salt, hunt the meat, grow the vegetables, and then make the tools needed to do all of that. AI is just the extreme case of a trend that was already in motion.
The writer also describes that in detail.
We all know the expression: as easy sheep
OK, be honest - did AI write the lion's share of that post for you, or just a grammar check, or perhaps a spell check only ? ;-) No judgment. Useful, aren't they ... I work as a Civil Engineer and have done for 30 years; I know enough to sanity-check what an AI produces. And to be thankful for the work they do... I feel like the real risk is around the young engineers who don't have the experience to know otherwise and are just starting to come through the educational sausage machine now and who rely on LLMs for seemingly everything.
And here I thought I was the only one who felt like falling behind. Be it in my academic career or life in general. Now I finally found a balanced approach. I only use AI as my assistant. I produce and it perfects and corrects my human mistakes, and it simultaneously teaches me and makes me live up to higher expectations to which my brain adapts. But I NEVER rely on it in the creative side of the work, even if the work me longer than my colleagues.
Went to Cuernevaca in '71 and spent 4 months at CIF studying with Ilich.
I wonder if Ivan Illich viewed the Catholic Church as a tool that served him, but not as well as his own intellect. This excellent article implies he found a superior tool, one faster, more precise, less prone to error. He remained a competent theologian, but found a better technology in his quest for God.
Did you read his biography, or is this your interpretation from this text?
Of course, you raise a legitimate question, and I wish I had the time or energy to read every biography referenced in a Substack article. I meant the post to be understood as a hypothesis or speculation. However, I find Ivan Ilyich intriguing enough to examine that biography. Thank you for your observation. If you’ve read the biography, I’m interested in how you view Ivan Ilich's life, work, and intellect.