BA.AI

I did not understand. That phrase is encountered less and less in today’s AI powered era. You see, everyone “understands” with the summary provided by AI. Everyone “knows” with the knowledge support of a great LLM that taps on the knowledge of millions just to show something. And given time, you may even write a whole essay for this thing that you know nothing about.

People fear not understanding something. They believe that not understanding will make them weak, unable to negotiate properly against someone who does. But not understanding is not something to fear. It is the first step towards true knowledge. You do not know something. You do know other things. And must build on these, while acknowledging that some things are beyond what you currently hold.

Knowledge does not come for free. And it certainly does not come in the form of a Gemini or GPT summary an hour before you get into that meeting. You must spend time and effort to know something. Try and fail. Make mistakes. Cry and despair. And at the end, you will be a bit closer to the end. An end that fits the wisdom of the cosmos itself: no answer is the end – it is just the beginning for something more. Something that you again understand not.

Alchemists used to spend years in their dark dents trying to decipher the secrets of the earth. Physics today spend years trying to understand. Philosophers in the shores of Ionia also spent years trying to understand the cosmos.

They all shared one thing: They did not understand.

And they acknowledged that. Proudly. Making it the foundation of their quest. No new knowledge can ever be founded on the existing answers that we have. Expanding existing theories will only get you this far. Building on things that already are, continuing down a path that is already laid, can only lead to things already defined. New thoughts require the death of the old.

“This doesn’t make sense”

“There should be another way instead”

“I do not understand!”

Knowledge is not free. Knowledge comes with pain. Any AI model should be properly grounded so that hallucinations are minimized. But before that, we should also ground ourselves. What do we know? What do we ignore? How willing are we to learn new things?

Small solid steps are the only way to conquer understanding of any subject. In the same way Google search did not make everyone experts in anything overnight, the advent of AI has not changed the way the world progresses. Surely the use of AI is not something that makes sense, but it is also imperative if one wants to learn. AI tools are great helpers in supporting this learning and understanding, no one argues against that. They can not only answer questions but also formulate personalized training plans, create exams for you to pass and watch over your progress as you learn. That being said, understanding comes from something more than just learning how to pass an exam. A certification can only say this much.

(How many senior advisors get their position because of holding a certificate?)

Understanding is woven in experience. Of people that you know. Of projects you have supported to the end. Big mistakes that nearly cost you everything. Little details for which no one cared.

At the end, knowledge becomes part of you.

Future is based on trust. Do you trust me because I copy pasted a summary from Copilot in the email I sent you today? Or do you trust me because we have spent together days and nights trying to find a resolution to a problem that we shared? Most importantly: Do you trust yourself to claim knowledge in something you have never ever met?

In the era of “I can do everything without knowing anything” seek people that proudly say “I don’t know”. We all started from that. And if you are wise enough, you will know that this is where you will also end up…

~ Harmonia Philosophica program

_2050withHumans