What the F is Going On? Cognition is Cheap, Understanding and Judgement is Not.
summary
Argues that cognition becomes abundant so generation of facts and code is cheap, but understanding and judgment are scarce; uses isochronic maps and a y = 3x + 7 example to show compression from many facts to a simple rule, frames AI as a stack (energy → chips → data centers → models → apps) and even cites "20 nuclear reactors under construction" as a cost/energy signal, warns of AI slop, and says teams must become editors, curators, verifiers and integrators.
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chapters (12)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:07Game and isochronic maps
- 5:20Revolutions unlock scarce resources
- 7:30Cognition is abundant
- 10:26Four kinds of knowing
- 13:42AI’s impact on propositional knowing
- 15:27Understanding as data compression
- 17:13Signal versus noise
- 18:39From coders to editors
- 19:24Software as socio-technical system
- 21:10AI shifts human value
- 22:15Accountable understanding
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