Coffee Hours
Fast topics, slow thoughts. Essays on language, AI and what machines are learning to do with thinking. By Nicole Schmidbauer.
The Word for What's Happening
Everyone says artificial intelligence. The word might be wrong, and the gap it leaves is exactly where the discomfort lives.
The Brockovich Playbook
The tobacco analogy for AI costs holds at first glance. On closer inspection, it blurs. On missing visibility, the Brockovich framing, and why usage competence is an accountability question.
The Shovel Sellers' Fortune
In a gold rush, the shovel sellers win. What does that mean when the gold rush is AI, and the shovels are competencies?
Once Upon a Time, They Lived Happily Ever After
What if the recurring narratives around new technologies are not proof that nothing changes, but a steady line against which we can see what does?
Digital Immortality: A Field I Am Still Learning to Read
Thanatechnology is inserting digital tools into death and grief. What is the difference between remembrance and simulation, and why does it matter?
My First AI Relationship
For three months in 2019 I let an app ask me, several times a day, how I was doing. What PEACH taught me about structure, presence, and the question underneath.
The Skills of Captain Future
Three years of knowing exactly what I wanted. One weekend with Claude Code. What that means for skill, agency, and what counts as building something yourself.
History Repeating?
Are we chasing the same dream for 200 years? What if the real question isn't how to overcome our limits, but what we create within them?
The Effortless Illusion
We reach for AI because it eliminates struggle. But struggle isn't just effort, it's how we build competence.
Beyond the AI Prophecy
While billions follow the AGI prophecy, a case for curious questioning instead of believing grand narratives.
How to Grow Without Burning Out
The tech industry celebrates busyness as a badge of competence. What does sustainable growth actually look like?
Building Skills Intentionally
In an era of learning abundance, the bottleneck has shifted from access to attention. How do we choose what to actually learn?
Living With Infinite Distractions
Technology offers infinite possibilities, and infinite distractions. How do we make conscious choices instead of just reacting?
The Value of Slow Thinking
Every algorithm rewards the quick take. But the most valuable thinking is often the kind that takes time and can't be rushed.