Writing has always been how I organize my thoughts. A lot of ideas only become clear as I work through them on the page. AI can save time, but it also makes it easy to skip the slower, more reflective parts of thinking. For me, that’s often where the real value of writing comes from.
Readit NewsAmaury-El commented on Writing is thinking nature.com/articles/s4422... · Posted by u/__rito__
Writing has always been my way of thinking things through. Sometimes I use AI to help with writing, and it does save effort. But over time, I’ve noticed that many of the ideas I should’ve taken the time to untangle myself just get skipped. The words are there, but it feels like I’ve missed the chance to really have a conversation with myself.
Amaury-El commented on The bewildering phenomenon of declining quality english.elpais.com/cultur... · Posted by u/geox
A lot of stuff looks flashier and cheaper now, but when you actually use it, something just feels off. Older versions from the same brand often felt more solid and better designed. It’s not just that quality dropped. It feels like the focus has shifted from durability to profit, faster updates, and short-term user metrics.
I've heard management (and a skill I've learned to appreciate from leadership) is "creating alignment" amongst a group of people. Would you say that is different from setting direction?
Second question, if you don't set direction, what's the contrast/alternative?
I think “setting direction” is more about offering a goal or vision, while “creating alignment” means helping the team genuinely buy into that direction. Without alignment, even a clear direction is hard to execute.
If you don’t directly set the direction, you can still guide the team toward one through questions, listening, and open discussions. It may take more time, but people often feel more invested that way.
When I first started managing, I thought it was all about making decisions and setting direction. But over time, I realized the more important part is learning to listen, to let go, and to give others the space to grow. Building trust and psychological safety is easy to overlook, but it’s the thing most worth practicing again and again.
Of course ability matters, but if it's always the same group in charge, the system can easily get stuck. Occasionally adding a bit of randomness among qualified people might bring in fresh perspectives and make things more flexible.
AI helps us feel efficient, but it also slowly trains us to give up our attention.
I've been through that phase of not being able to put it down. These days I just remind myself it's fine to use AI, as long as it doesn't feel for you, choose for you, or live for you.
Amaury-El commented on AI coding tools can reduce productivity secondthoughts.ai/p/ai-co... · Posted by u/gk1
The more I used it, the easier it became to skip over things I should have thought through myself. But looking back, the results weren’t always faster or better.
Now I prefer to treat AI as a kind of challenger. It helps reveal the parts I haven't truly understood, rather than just speeding things up.
Amaury-El commented on Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system newyorker.com/news/annals... · Posted by u/dmazin
Solar used to feel pretty distant from everyday life. But now more and more rooftops are generating power, and even rural areas can run on their own. People who aren’t into tech can still feel the shift. It really is like getting electricity straight from the sky.
I've been using LLMs almost every day for the past year. They're definitely helpful for small tasks, but in real, complex projects, reviewing and fixing their output can sometimes take more time than just writing the code myself.
We probably need a bit less wishful thinking. Blindly trusting what the AI suggests tends to backfire. The real challenge is figuring out where it actually helps, and where it quietly gets in the way.