I'm "guilty" of all 6 and reading your piece helped me make sense of the mess in my head on this topic.
Truth is whenever I see your name in my email with a new essay I feel like a kid opening a present at Christmas. Thank you for being such an isnpiration!
Thank you for putting words to something I can’t find language for. I find myself cycling through all six but vaguely aware that it’s just a coping mechanism and all can be true at once (or even none). Then occasionally I get a glimpse of the edge of terra nova and wonder if anyone else sees it. When I try to explain what I mean people around me think I’ve over complicating something that is actually very simple. Sometimes I convince myself of this too. Sometimes I think I might be going mad thinking about all the possible implications so then I go and stare at a tree and hug my daughter and feel better for a while.
This is such a helpful and insightful piece. I feel like AI in the workplace is a bit like one of those ‘magic eye’ pictures from the 90s - where we are all concentrating so hard and looking at the small tactical/efficiency pieces, we are failing to step back and see the bigger deeper picture that’s emerging. Thank you for writing this Zoe.
Love the article and grinning sheepishly reading the six loops I am guilty of. The biggest struggle I have is how we can revalue/ reframe/ reshape our output in this day and age to clients. Still experimenting with things, would love to hear your thoughts down the road too ☺️ you are so kickass to be working with Luka 😆
The loop I hate the most is efficiency. And it has consumed a lot of the conversation in advertising. It's so easy to be efficient at making a lot of really bland stuff that makes no impact.
Good that..I really struggle maintaining optimism when the corporate discourse is 99% consultant speak ‘efficient workflows’ etc meaning cutting costs and layoffs, when it should be in an ideal world about invention, creativity and customer value. We have a managerial class who simply don’t have imagination, they follow text book process and procedures.
Here’s an example, I recently read ‘Last Call for Bud Light,’ the bits where he isn’t railing against progressive business are a good illustration of how the American MBA executive thinks and operates. The author recently set up a fund, the first sentence on their home page, “we focused on one thing: maximizing shareholder value”.
Anyway, thinking of minimization, I do look forward to the day when LLM’s are just normal, a normal part of life, e.g. where SME’s we’ll never hear about are building their own tools/apps specifically for a particular need they have, and where anyone can get good clean data as raw material.
I think the loops are evidence that we all need a cognitive break, and we aren’t going to get one, but we do need to focus on pushing back against corporate managerialism and consultants.
I’m convinced linearization was a luxury humans have taken advantage of since the Industrial Revolution (at least). You’ve inspired me to make a bingo card.
I always leave your writing with my perspective enlarged. You are brilliant! I realize I've fallen into each of these loops at varying points. Thank you for sharing this and for expanding the conversation.
I'm "guilty" of all 6 and reading your piece helped me make sense of the mess in my head on this topic.
Truth is whenever I see your name in my email with a new essay I feel like a kid opening a present at Christmas. Thank you for being such an isnpiration!
Imagination feels like the currency for Terra Nova. What would Walt Disney do?
Thank you for putting words to something I can’t find language for. I find myself cycling through all six but vaguely aware that it’s just a coping mechanism and all can be true at once (or even none). Then occasionally I get a glimpse of the edge of terra nova and wonder if anyone else sees it. When I try to explain what I mean people around me think I’ve over complicating something that is actually very simple. Sometimes I convince myself of this too. Sometimes I think I might be going mad thinking about all the possible implications so then I go and stare at a tree and hug my daughter and feel better for a while.
🙌🏻
very curious how do you produce those gifs used in the thumbnail? they look really cool and they stand out!
Excellent, keep going please
This is such a helpful and insightful piece. I feel like AI in the workplace is a bit like one of those ‘magic eye’ pictures from the 90s - where we are all concentrating so hard and looking at the small tactical/efficiency pieces, we are failing to step back and see the bigger deeper picture that’s emerging. Thank you for writing this Zoe.
The phrase "possibility prophet" pops into my head when I contemplate your Terra Nova process.
Love the article and grinning sheepishly reading the six loops I am guilty of. The biggest struggle I have is how we can revalue/ reframe/ reshape our output in this day and age to clients. Still experimenting with things, would love to hear your thoughts down the road too ☺️ you are so kickass to be working with Luka 😆
I love your writing; always insightful and thought provoking
"Technology doesn't simply replace things, it reconfigures them...photography... liberated [painting] into new territory [- expression] "
This reaally sparked a lightbulb moment for me.
I am genuinely excited to read about your Terra Nova
The loop I hate the most is efficiency. And it has consumed a lot of the conversation in advertising. It's so easy to be efficient at making a lot of really bland stuff that makes no impact.
Good that..I really struggle maintaining optimism when the corporate discourse is 99% consultant speak ‘efficient workflows’ etc meaning cutting costs and layoffs, when it should be in an ideal world about invention, creativity and customer value. We have a managerial class who simply don’t have imagination, they follow text book process and procedures.
Here’s an example, I recently read ‘Last Call for Bud Light,’ the bits where he isn’t railing against progressive business are a good illustration of how the American MBA executive thinks and operates. The author recently set up a fund, the first sentence on their home page, “we focused on one thing: maximizing shareholder value”.
Anyway, thinking of minimization, I do look forward to the day when LLM’s are just normal, a normal part of life, e.g. where SME’s we’ll never hear about are building their own tools/apps specifically for a particular need they have, and where anyone can get good clean data as raw material.
I think the loops are evidence that we all need a cognitive break, and we aren’t going to get one, but we do need to focus on pushing back against corporate managerialism and consultants.
Woah. I feel called out bc I’ve written about every one of these. Well done. You earned a follow from me 🤝
➰ The magnetosphere’s in a state of disarray.
I’m convinced linearization was a luxury humans have taken advantage of since the Industrial Revolution (at least). You’ve inspired me to make a bingo card.
I always leave your writing with my perspective enlarged. You are brilliant! I realize I've fallen into each of these loops at varying points. Thank you for sharing this and for expanding the conversation.