“Co-Intelligence”: Living and Working with AI is a Reality
I know, GenAI is a buzzword this year, and everyone is talking and writing about it. (Are those AI “use cases” in the room with us?)
Ethan Mollick is one of the most reputable AI thinkers, and I believe this book is a must-read if you want to learn more about using GenAI in a practical and concise form:
“Co-Intelligence” provides a clear overview of the current state of GenAI, while also offering practical advice on how to explore this field further.
Ethan encourages readers to make AI a constant companion, whether at work or in daily life. The book is organized into chapters based on the different roles that AI can play in our lives: AI as a co-worker, a tutor, and more.
He suggests testing AI for various tasks — such as proofreading, summarizing, and brainstorming — to personally understand its capabilities and limitations.
The book addresses the issue of hallucination, a common occurrence where AI generates inaccurate or misleading information. Mollick sees this as a significant challenge that prevents us from fully relying on AI. He notes that while improvements may occur, the problem may never be completely gone.
“Co-Intelligence” offers a realistic perspective, making it clear that while AI is a powerful tool, it’s not infallible.
Another piece of advice from the book is to provide concrete scenarios and specific personas when instructing AI. Ethan warns against anthropomorphizing AI: despite it’s ability to mimic human conversation, it is ultimately just generating text based on data and algorithms.
Another interesting idea from the book is that, as a co-creator, GenAI excels at brainstorming and generating ideas that are often less obvious and more creative than what a human could come up with in the same amount of time.
However, Ethan points out that, in the long run, AI-generated content could become less creative and more generic. Therefore, using ChatGPT for brainstorming and creativity can be helpful, it is important to critically review the output and follow your own creative process.
On a personal note, I actually used GenAI to assist with this book review. After recording my initial thoughts as a voice memo, I used ChatGPT to proofread and organize them into a coherent review, which I then refined and personalized further. (It needed a LOT of proofreading to make it sound more natural and aligned with my writing style!).
I never post book reviews without a beer recommendation. Books and beers — that’s what I do.
I am a Belgian beer (and generally Belgian beer style) girlie. Give me a Belgian beer, and I’m happy.
Today’s recommendation is La Chouffe, a good introduction to Belgian beers. It’s quite strong (as Belgian beers tend to be), slightly sweet, and stands out with its unique flavor profile.
La Chouffe in the picture below was enjoyed in a beautiful beer garden in Bruges 🇧🇪
