Episode 3.5

Meet Type Mom:

Ellen Lupton is an Instagram sensation, where she teaches fonts & graphic design.

She has authored 58 books as a writer, curator, educator, and designer.

She also feels like the type of aunt who gifts you fake vomit one year and a loaded Kindle the next.

NGL, this type of content would probably hit my algorithm where it hurts…

but as a recovering smartphone addict that’s not where I found her.

Shoutout Bozeman Library!

The book I picked up was ‘thinking with type’ and I dug right in.

Lupton’s ideas on digital identity hit me right in the gut.

What if this whole AI reckoning we’re living through… is actually a golden opportunity?

We won’t be covering fonts or design today, but Lupton gave us a golden segue into the heart of the human:AI relationship.

Are You a User or a Human?

In the chapter Readers, Writers, and Users, Lupton contrasts the ongoing ‘digital age’ with the eras that preceded.

She describes me, you, your neighbor as simply a ‘user’ in the digital age.

Users. Not humans.

Of course she’s right; we’ve known it for a long time.

She’s plainly referencing our era of hyper-customization and personalized marketing.

That doesn’t shield us from the sights of scrutinized, controlled, submitted.

The user as a hunted target is insightful; it sets the stage for the next next era.

(you know, the one where the machines take over)

Human In The Loop (HITL)

Could this AI safety concept be our sneaky way of reclaiming our namesake as humans?!

I wanted to share industry lingo, so I used Perplexity.ai for my search.

Human In The Loop (HITL): What AI Providers Say

• Anthropic emphasizes “human judgment, iterative feedback, ethical engagement at every stage of human-AI interaction” (they don’t directly use the HITL term).

• OpenAI positions HITL as “Critical in high-stakes tasks + code generation. Humans should be aware of the limitations of the system…”

• Google expands it to areas “requiring judgment, contextual understanding, and handling incomplete information.”

For an AI Curious audience, I sum it up more simply:

(grab a free sticker below)

What’s Next for The Users?

Yo! Human is a huge upgrade from User.

This is the best card we have to play right now!

I’d much rather be in the loop than scrutinized, controlled, and submitted.

So…

In case it’s truly Us vs. The Machines…

Here’s the plan:

1. We hijack the phrase Human In The Loop.
   

2. We learn AI concepts, so we can get behind the wheel rather than run over.
   

3. Then we cover our asses by learning when to ‘check’ AI.

Not only is HITL critical for onboarding AI into your life, work, or processes…

It’s the only best card we have to play.

If you know someone who would enjoy this content,

Here’s what’s coming next :

Tuesdays: The next episode with Chip & Scoops, a couple of AI-curious friends just like you.
(Catch up on the last episode here)

Thursdays: We’ll cover foundational LLM and AI concepts. (Don’t worry. I put the cookies on the lower shelf, where anyone can reach ‘em.) I teach advanced concepts in simple, bite-sized chunks that anyone can understand.