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Sev
@sevitz.com

People don't think of their lives as a set of tasks, so "hey agent, sort my stuff out" doesn't solve much. Some thoughts after percolating on this bsky.app/profile/tres...

Tressie McMillan Cottom@tressiemcphd.bsky.social

I am talking about working with people to even conceive of their lives as a set of tasks — that isn’t exactly natural and isn’t something we train people to do and yet its a precondition for figuring out what an agent would even *do*.

Sev
@sevitz.com

We've had workflows and task automation for forever. How many people even use Gmail or Outlook filters? People are messy, and being organised takes cognitive effort.

Sev
@sevitz.com

The current theory is agents are going to take the heavy lifting off you. The reality is : (1) it's not that easy to get an agent to do exactly what you want, (2) people just don't think like this.

Sev
@sevitz.com

I do think (1) will get easier but I'm not sold that (2) will change much. Telling Gmail that you want a filter is easier than setting up a filter, but knowing a filter will solve stuff? Not so much.

Sev
@sevitz.com

The question is can AI/Agents abstract even that away? (Not sure the promotions and multi-inboxes which exist already has done much generally for normies)

Sev
@sevitz.com

The models will get better sure, but these are products built for 1b people. Thats hard to get right. And As TCCM says people don't think like this. bsky.app/profile/tres... Can AI get this to the people that it's so good that people change how they work? I'm not so sure.

Tressie McMillan Cottom@tressiemcphd.bsky.social

In practice, AI literacy doesn’t start with building the tool for your personal use. It starts with understanding yourself as a collection of tasks who should subcontract those out to a machine. Almost no regular person’s life currently exists as such.

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