How to Improve at Sensemaking AI?
Cedric Chen over at Common Cog writes a lot of good stuff and this is no exception. While this essay, part 3 of a 3 parter is ostensibly about AI, it's really a good read on changing your understanding of the world and how you position your beliefs.
It is acceptable to read takes … if you are doing it for frame construction purposes. This is a nuanced point. The vast majority of predictions you read are still going to be wrong. During a technological shift, you will still encounter many writers who are opining on the ‘current thing’ for attention. Others will write for self-soothing reasons. These facts are not going to change. But you now have a new tool in your toolbox: instead of reading these opinions at face value, you may read them for frame construction reasons. You may ask: what frame are they operating from? Why do they hold such a frame? Are there data points that they’re using as anchors that I’m not seeing? Of course, you do not have to accept their frame, in the same way that you do not have to take their opinions seriously. But you may proceed to evaluate the frame they’re operating in.