CMD-X: From Outrage to Insight with LLMs and Digital Gardens
Andy Gayton
disillusionment with heroes
“Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me.”
(Pink Floyd, “Echoes”, 1971, Roger Waters)
“Tibet is part of China. It has been absolutely accepted by the whole of the international community since 1948. If you don’t know that, you’re not reading enough.”
(CNN interview, 2022, Roger Waters)
prompt>
roger waters seems like complex character. focusing on his politics can you respond with two, terse paragraphs:
the first should be as generous as possible,
and the 2nd as critical as possible
Things are pretty rough right now.
We’ve got existential human-made climate change, inequality.
But it seems like we can’t even begin to tackle these challenges for the lack of the ability to have a civil conversation.
Today, I hope to persuade you to try out two things:
Next time you’re furious online, hit CMD-X (cut), pause, and paste your reaction into an LLM. (Ask yourself: What would actually help?)
Plant your thoughts in a Digital Garden: grow ideas, share thoughtfully, and cultivate better conversations.
by Mike Caulfield
The majority of our current online platforms are optimized for the stream
The majority of our current online platforms are optimized for the stream:
In contrast to the garden:
Capture your outrage. Before posting an angry reply, hit CMD-X.
Paste it into an LLM along with the provoking message. Ask for two paragraphs:
Break the cycle, reflect deeply, and discover perspectives you’d otherwise miss.
There’s no time line. Did all this happen in one day or 10 years? Is it real or fabricated?
“What are you talking about! Does it matter? What’s happening here isn’t okay!”
Some thoughts on the original message:
Cycling Professor’s tone
are deeply inappropiate, and unhelpful.
So what would help?
Plant them in a Digital Garden
Hit CMD-X.
Reflect with an LLM, then plant your insights in a Digital Garden.
It’s a cycle: Garden → LLM → Garden.
Digital Gardens:
Tools for thought: