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Posts about AI

You Can't Write Tactile Without AI

In the last few weeks, I spent quite a bit of money on art supplies. My hobbies are cyclical. The interest fades, but it always returns. This time feels different. Sketching and painting have a cathartic effect on me. It feels necessary, not just fun.

Normally, perfectionism makes me quit quickly. Frustration comes quickly when your artwork looks nothing like what you expected. I have been working on that, but lately, I find myself loving the imperfection itself.

Maybe that shift is connected to AI.

Sure, it is neat to generate a Studio Ghibli version of an image. But as someone who knows he could create something unique by hand, it feels hollow.

Every line of ink on paper carries more tactile character, more direct connection to the body and emotions, than anything made on a screen. That was always true. AI just made it more obvious.

I want to harvest that truth for my otherwise very digital life. I feel like it will be essential for my wellbeing going forward.

May 14th, 2025

I, for one, don't mind design tools experimenting with AI features.

Much of what we're doing is just going through the motions until we reach the stage where the real work begins. If a tool can help me design an MVP of a form in 3 seconds that would have otherwise required 1,200 clicks, I'm greeting it with open arms.

My valuable skill is not drawing boxes in slightly different iterations but thinking about complex products that require a bird's-eye view and a vision. It will take some time until AI gets us there.

June 27th, 2024