Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
This video is featured in the AI and UX playlist.
Summary
There is a lot of hype around AI. But in many ways, AI’s potential for augmenting your cognitive abilities has been undersold. Learn how tools such as ChatGPT can become valuable collaborators that expand and refine your thinking. This seminar by Duly Noted author Jorge Arango shows you how to augment your notes using popular AI tools. Watch Part 1 Watch Part 2
Key Insights
-
•
Generative AI like GPT-4 functions best as advanced symbol manipulation tools rather than true sentient intelligences.
-
•
Digital notes serve as cognitive augmentations, especially powerful when users retain direct control over their data files.
-
•
Obsidian's use of plain text files enables flexible AI integrations beyond proprietary cloud-based note systems.
-
•
Anthropomorphizing AI is natural but should be tempered by understanding AI's actual functional nature.
-
•
Using AI as an amanuensis—a super secretary—can augment tasks like summarizing, translating, synthesizing, organizing, and providing feedback on ideas.
-
•
Transparency about which parts of your notes are AI-generated is critical to maintain clarity and trust in your knowledge base.
-
•
Cloud-based AI chat interactions can expose your data to training usage; API and enterprise plans often offer better data privacy.
-
•
Context-rich prompts and uploading source material improve AI output relevance and precision.
-
•
AI's training on word frequency probabilities means its feedback tends to be moderate and conventional unless carefully prompted.
-
•
Plugins like Obsidian's Smart Connections can automatically suggest relationships between notes without requiring explicit links, empowering better knowledge discovery.
Notable Quotes
"Thinking is something that happens as the brain interacts with the world, and notes are one of the best tools to think with."
"I think of generative models not as intelligences but as the most powerful symbol manipulation tools ever created."
"These models are to language what spreadsheets and calculators are to numbers."
"I don’t want an AI to think for me; I want to grow as a person, and these tools can help me do that."
"You should be transparent with yourself about which parts of your notes were generated by AI."
"The chat interface is just one UI on top of these models; APIs allow for much more powerful and flexible interactions."
"When you interact with AI via chat, your data can be used for training, but API and enterprise versions generally protect your data."
"Uploading documents like PDFs allows AI to summarize and explain complex or jargon-heavy texts more clearly."
"AI tends to give fairly middle-of-the-road feedback because it’s trained on word co-occurrence probabilities, not conceptual understanding."
"I wouldn’t want AI to automatically modify my notes without some control over the changes."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Restoration is not just about replanting trees; it’s about rebuilding entire ecosystems."
Alex Hurworth Bonnie John Fahd Arshad Antoine MarinDesigning a Contact Tracing App for Universal Access
October 23, 2020
"These brand new practitioners can bring fresh perspectives and new ways of thinking to hopefully see current problems in a new light."
Laine Riley Prokay Lisa GordonCarving a Path for Early Career DesignOps Practitioners
September 9, 2022
"We stopped talking about patterns and consistency and started talking about scalability and speed to connect with stakeholders."
Eniola OluwoleLessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site
October 24, 2019
"Design researchers know customers better than almost anyone else in the organization, yet they are rarely invited into strategy processes."
Nathan ShedroffDouble Your Mileage: Use Your Research Strategically
March 31, 2020
"Voice control on mobile goes beyond digital assistants and can fully control the device for users who cannot use touch."
Sam ProulxMobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World
November 17, 2022
"Product and design teams are usually the best initial stakeholders to engage for rapid research programs."
Feleesha SterlingBuilding a Rapid Research Program (Videoconference)
May 18, 2023
"You get to those iconic signature actions when product excellence meets cultural tensions and what people need."
Neil BarrieWidening the Aperture: The Case for Taking a Broader Lens to the Dialogue between Products and Culture
March 25, 2024
"Leadership roles have to evolve depending on whether you’re building awareness, influence, capacity, or measuring impact."
John DevanneyThe Design Management Office
November 6, 2017
"The most important thing is producing something that gives a perspective nobody else in the organization can bring."
Katy MogalBut Do Your Insights Scale?
March 12, 2021