tldraw computer

A biography of J. C. R. Licklider, the psychologist and scientist who inspired the work that led to the internet, and shifted our understanding of what computers could be.

Stripe Press — The Dream Machine

https://press.stripe.com/the-dream-machine

I'm looking forward to more interfaces like https://computer.tldraw.com/ that acknowledges the probabilistic nature of Gen AI. I like that they put a conditional switch that has "Yes, No, Maybe" as states. :)

True. Like having jammed with the band members before. Then the privacy concerns seep in.

Well we never fully relied on speech alone. Think about human history. Face to face communication was the majority of the interface we had. And that includes facial expressions, visuals, and body language all working in concert.

These are for human-to-human communication. First time in personal computer history we can get rid off screens thanks to speaking interface. We can have real accessibility. Imagine a computer disabled people, babies, dogs and cats can interact with. I’m keen to talk to AI tbh.

Prompting is not a “skill.” It is simply a usability burden until better alternatives come along.

Ironic when it comes to generative AI being used for writing 😅

How do we get someone to write the way we want?

I am also super keen to talk to computers—as in talk, reason, laugh and cry together with trust one day. Prompting has been sold to us as the ultimate interface to Gen AI without any user manual.

Totally valid points. I’m looking at the current state of affairs and seeing the disproportionate amount of attention given to prompting as a skill. I think there are far better interfaces to Gen AI which are yet to come and the people who will create them are in this community.

And yes, prompting isn’t for everyone just like expressing your feelings and showing emotions.

and when we want someone to make some music we hum the melody or scat the drum beat (as a former musician this was normal)

It’s funny because what are the alternatives… when we want ppl to do something visual for us we describe it and also ‘show’ them (could be an image or a drawing we made)

I agree though now that I think about it…it seems ways away because the interface itself would need context…almost human context

Love the discussion here. It is super interesting how computer interfaces evolved over time. I had a blast reading this book on that subject. Spoiler alert, the punch cards were the first, if you don't count wiring copper together.

I remember how much I enjoyed using iPod Shuffle. It was very thoughtfully designed and I never looked for a screen. It didn’t distract me or kill my imagination. I think it’s like reading the book over watching the movie in screen. Now imagine the possibilities with AI.

For me what would be cool is let’s say I’m making music with AI, normally you can jam with a human…you play something and someone adds to it…you might beat box a drum pattern for the drummer or hum a melody etc.. we should be working towards that with AI

The book is The Dream Machine https://press.stripe.com/the-dream-machine Sorry I forgot to hit paste. :)

Writing with intent to produce a specific outcome? Seems like a good skill to have. If not for prompting, for other aspects of life/work.

The music humming is the perfect example of an alternative to text prompting. 😇

What about speaking? The oldest user interface.

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