I’m deeply worried about humanity losing our critical thinking skills. We’ve seen it degrade in the social media era, and now we’re seeing people wholesale outsource it in the AI era.

But what if we can actually enhance our critical thinking with AI? I’m too much of a skeptic to tackle this topic on my own, which is why I brought in Christian Ulstrup, who’s doing some truly interesting things in the AI space.

We talk about how AI is changing the education space, how we work, and why we should look to classic philosophers, like Aristotle, for the answers to how we should approach AI.

The Walk and Talk Framework

Want a great way to use AI? Use Christian’s Walk and Talk Framework:

1. Gather Your "Digital Exhaust": First, collect the raw data you've already produced.
2. The AI Prompt: Copy and paste your text into a large-context model (like Google AI Studio) and use this specific prompt:
   1. "I want you to pose to me three extremely precise, very hard-hitting questions, all of which are independent and have different coverage, that if sufficiently answered, would yield some kind of transformative, genuinely novel, impactful insight. Please make reference to the primary source material where appropriate in the context of the question."
3. The "Thinking" Phase
   1. Don't look at the questions yet.
   2. Copy them into a mobile notes app and go for a way
   3. Read only the first question.
   4. Open a Voice Memo and monologue your answer. Don't worry about being polished—mumble, ask yourself follow-up questions, and grapple with the idea until you feel you've reached a breakthrough.
   5. Repeat for the remaining questions.
4. Distill the Insight

Links

• Christian Ulstrup on LinkedIn
• The First Draft is Where the Magic Happens
• How Much is AI Harming Our Ability to Connect?
• Deep Questions Ep. 380: ChatGPT is Not Alive
• Aristotle's Four Causes
• GSD at Work
• Radiant Meeting Recorder
• Google AI Studio
• Mailmeteor

What do you think? Send your feedback to streamlinedfeedback.com

Simplify your tech stack at https://streamlined.fm/tools

“What’s your exit strategy?” Someone actually asked me this when I was starting my business. I didn’t have one. I’m not in it for the exit.

But the question went to something deeper: how are you going to make actual money? Because the problem is most solo business owners charge hourly. Or they need to hire to scale. OR they need to sell the business.

But there’s a better way: Value-Based Pricing. And Jonathan Stark is here today to tell us about it.

Want to see how you’re spending your time so you can do more value-based pricing? Download my solopreneur self-assessment: https://streamlined.fm/impact

Links

• Jonathan Stark
• Value Pricing Bootcamp
• Hourly Billing is Nuts

What do you think? Send your feedback to streamlinedfeedback.com

Simplify your tech stack at https://streamlined.fm/tools

I am no Luddite. I have three pieces of technology that monitor my health and wellness. I’ve come to rely on many devices.

That is why I am doing a digital detox.

This is Paper and Smoke. It’s a look at how real-world craft happens, through the lens of a technologist going through digital detox. In a society increasingly online (and outsourcing thinking to AI), Paper and Smoke celebrates the real, the tangible, and the analog.

Learn more at https://paperandsmoke.com