Start from zero
No background assumed. The shortest path from 'I keep hearing about AI' to being genuinely conversant: what these systems are, what they do to work, and how to read the news about them.
Choosing a path highlights it as you browse. It is saved only in this browser — no account, and nothing leaves your machine.
The reading order
- 1[1hr Talk] Intro to Large Language ModelsAndrej Karpathy · Original video · 60 min watch · Introductory
One hour that gives you the mental model everything else builds on.
About this work → - 2Centaurs and Cyborgs on the Jagged FrontierEthan Mollick · Original essay · 10 min read · Introductory
Ten minutes on what AI actually does to skilled work — including when it makes you worse.
About this work → - 3The AI water issue is fakeAndy Masley · Original essay · 85 min read · Introductory
A case study in reading alarming AI statistics: insist on denominators.
About this work → - 4Plentiful, high-paying jobs in the age of AINoah Smith · Original essay · 23 min read · Introductory
The economics of 'will there be jobs', from the optimist's side, cleanly argued.
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Then follow your interest
How the machine actually works
The stakes and the argument
- 1AI as Normal TechnologyOriginal essay · 90 min read · Intermediate
The case that AI is a normal technology and diffusion is slow.
About this work → - 2The AI 2040 Scenario (Plan A — The Deal)Original document · 150 min read · Intermediate
The opposing worldview, told as a year-by-year scenario.
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The deeper questions
- 1Ghost in the CloudOriginal essay · 35 min read · Introductory
Why AI prophecy sounds religious — because it is.
About this work → - 2Antiqua et Nova: Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human IntelligenceOriginal document · 105 min read · Intermediate
The Vatican on what intelligence is before what machines are not.
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