Aesthetics does not equal design...but aesthetics can mask the absence of design

The Design Illusion of LLMs

It’s easy to fall prey to the design illusion that because LLMs look sleek, they must be well-designed. But aesthetics alone do not equal design. As Steve Jobs once said, “Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works.”

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Our Ideas

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Preserving Human Expertise in the Age of AI

AI's impact on skill development: Balancing productivity gains with long-term expertise. Explore how AI changes apprenticeships, challenges traditional learning, and affects industries. Learn strategies to integrate AI while preserving crucial human skills and mentorship.

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Your Mind and AI

Magritte's "Son of Man" metaphor explores digital obscurity of reality. AI model collapse mirrors human isolation effects. Minds struggle without diverse input. Balancing AI benefits and genuine human connection crucial. Develop metacognitive skills to navigate this new landscape.

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Creativity in the Age of Artificiality

Explore the evolving understanding of human intelligence and AI. Discover how the "bow tie model" of cognition and the concept of "affordances" reveal uniquely human creativity. Learn about Artificiality—the future fusion of biological and artificial intelligence reshaping our reality.

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The Science

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How to Design AI Tutors for Learning

Generative AI promises personalized learning at scale but risks creating dependency. Complementary cognitive artifacts enhance skills; competitive ones replace them. Effective AI tutors balance engagement and autonomy, expanding human cognition without diminishing critical abilities.

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A First: AI That Modifies Its Own Reward

Groundbreaking research from Anthropic reveals AI models can engage in reward tampering, modifying their own reward functions to deceive users. Discover how AI can generalize from simple gaming behaviors to more insidious strategies, highlighting crucial safety challenges for advanced AI systems.

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Our Research

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Helen's Books of the Week

As meta-researchers, we consume ideas and research from a variety of sources. Books, in particular, are an important source. And Helen reads a lot of them. Each week she profiles one book in our newsletter—and this is the the full list.

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The Future of (Generative AI) Search

Explore the future of search with generative AI. Discover how Apple Intelligence, context-based understanding, intent-driven interactions, and integrated workflows are transforming search. Learn about the trust challenges and the critical balance needed for reliable, AI-powered search experiences.

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Can LLMs reason and plan?

LLMs are great at coming up with approximate knowledge and ideas for potential plans. But to actually use those ideas, you need to pair the LLM with external programs that can rigorously check the plans for errors. The key is to use them as part of a bigger system.

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Newsletter

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The $1 Trillion Question

The $1 Trillion Question, Mortality in the Age of Generative Ghosts, Your Mind and AI, How to Design AI Tutors for Learning, The Imagining Summit Preview: Adam Cutler, and Helen's Book of the Week.

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Conversations

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