The fourth installment of Dominic Chen’s series Fermentation and Generation: The “Beast Paths” — An Alternative to Information Technology, titled “Getting Started with Pickles,” has been published in the web magazine Plain living, high thinking.
This article introduces the simple operating principle and design philosophy of Pickles, a service in which generative AI reads a week’s worth of journal entries and returns prompts for insight and reflection via email. By deliberately automating tasks that could be done manually, and through ongoing experimentation in “growing” prompts and building systems capable of referencing long-term data, the project is also framed as a form of research into maintaining an appropriate distance from AI. The piece further details rapid prototyping through vibe coding with generative AI, collaboration with an engineer, and processes of consensus-building through version control. Under the guiding principle of not entrusting meaning-making too fully to AI, it traces the moment when the team moves into “dogfooding,” continuing to use the completed MVP in their own daily lives.
Fourth article:
4.Picklesを使いはじめるまで ｜ 発酵と生成の「けもの道」 情報技術のオルタナティブ ｜ ドミニク・チェン ｜ 連載 ｜ 考える人 ｜ 新潮社
情報技術には発酵の時間が足りていないのではないか――。『未来をつくる言葉』（新潮文庫）で、新たな視座を伝えたドミニク・チェンが、AIの時代にあるべき情報技術との付き合い方を問う。自身もSNSをすべて断ち、強い覚悟をもって新しい「情報倫理」の可能性を探る。発酵と生成によって切り拓かれるけもの道。はたしてその先にはどんな風景が待ち受けているのか？ ＊バナーの画像は、人が発酵中の味噌と対話をするためのMisobot（「発酵文化芸術祭 金沢」の展示風景）
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