First edition: Nothing Artifical
As I start building a business for myself, one that tries to help heal software engineering cultures and make stronger engineering managers, there are a million decisions that need to be made along the way.
One of the first was how I want to use generative AI in all of this. After all, the early days of this are largely content-based - blog posts, newsletters like this, bits on LinkedIn, some video bits eventually - and there are a ton of platforms out there that can reliably claim that they could mimic my voice and produce reams and reams of those sorts of things.
It could be so easy!
But I’m not doing that here.
The way I think about the current AI tools is more about looking at the uses for it than the capability of it. What things are folks using the tools for?
And what does that say about what they value in other human beings and what’s just a pain in the ass that they want to get out of the way.
I’ve used AI tools for security boilerplate documents, master service agreements, consulting contracts - the sorts of things I would typically google around and find something to copy and paste and lightly edit. ChatGPT is faster than Google for that and works for me.
I’ve seen other folks, though, using it for things like entire blog posts, images to go with them and the like.
I’ve also been in meetings where folks have boasted about using these platforms to write speeches and to fulfill requests to personally introduce others at award shows and gatherings.
I think of these platforms as Fiverr-level replacements. What do I care so little about that I’d farm it out to the lowest bidder? These platforms will always and already be cheaper than any human being - in dollars and mental energy.
For me, I care about my thinking, and about the people I intend to help here.
I’m teaching about how to care about other people, how to care about our work, how to care about yourself to a degree.
When I manage, I hire for “care” first. I hire folks who give a shit foremost.
And that’s who I’m writing for here - folks who give a shit. Or want to give a shit.
That starts with me.
So, everything you’ll read in this newsletter, or on the blog, or courses, books, podcasts and videos to come, will be produced by a human - me, specifically, for now.
Nothing artificial - from sweeteners to intelligence.
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And now for a lighter roast ...
My recent forays into local coffee shops made me more nerdy about the coffee I make at home - and I was already pretty nerdy.
I've made making aeropress throughout the pandemic and have a recipe pretty dialed in. But the more pour-overs I got at local coffee shops, the more I wanted try and replicate the clean, bright cups I'd gotten out and about at home.
So, I celebrated committing to this freelance/consulting life with a new brewer: The Fellow Stagg X pour over kit.
I'm still fiddling a bit with the grind size and water temperature, but a few days in and I'm already making really tasty cups. And the coffee looks amazing in the double-walled tasting glass.
In general, my aeropress brews have more body and texture but can also feel a bit muddy when compared to the brews I get out of this straightforward kit.
Can recommend.
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Coming up on the blog this week will be a bit about hiring. Now that I'm committed to consulting for this next phase of my career, I can rip the lid off of bad hiring practices and how to think about hiring when you're a hiring manager with an opening.
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In any case, thanks for following along and you can look forward to a fresh one of these each Monday - hopefully around this same time.
Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to explore in future editions ... or if you have your own interesting coffee discoveries.
I hope you're in the midst of a marvelous Monday, and if not, just remember - tomorrow will be the best day of your life.