Gurteen Knowledge Letter
Issue 285 – March 2024
My recent in-person Knowledge Café at Regents University was a great success, marking the first event after a four-year gap. I’m now pleased to announce another London Café hosted by Oliver Wyman for March 27th on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Knowledge Management. I also hope to organize a third session focused on Deliberative Democracy once I have found a host.
These Cafés are enjoyable to run and highly engaging. If you would like any help or advice on organizing them in your city or organization, please get in touch.
Contents
- What Is Intelligence?
The ability to comprehend and purposefully react to information - Using Chatgpt on Your Smartphone
An indispensable thinking companion - Beyond Information Sharing
The collaborative nature of conversation - The Importance of Teaching Respectful Conversation
A necessity for a healthy society - The Journey of Knowledge and Innovation
A historical timeline - Knowledge Summit Dublin
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 10th -11th June 2024 - Conversational Leadership Coach
A custom GPT - Help Keep My Work Alive
- Unsubscribe
- Gurteen Knowledge Letter
What Is Intelligence?
The ability to comprehend and purposefully react to information
I recently started to write about artificial intelligence and its relationship to Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management. In doing so, I felt compelled first to define artificial intelligence. However, in attempting to define AI, I realized I needed to step back and define intelligence itself.
This led me to consider evolution, consciousness, and the nature of intelligence — topics intertwined with any discussion of AI. I tend to follow tangents and explore foundational concepts when writing. It helps provide context but can also lead me down rabbit holes.
This is still a work in progress, but take a look if you're interested in my developing perspectives on intelligence.
Using Chatgpt on Your Smartphone
An indispensable thinking companion
I hope you have ChatGPT installed on your smartphone. I have it and use it all the time, simply because I can talk to it.
So, during the day, whether I'm in a coffee shop, waiting at the station for my wife to arrive home, or tidying the house, whatever I'm doing, I'm usually thinking about something.
If I have a question or need inspiration, I ask ChatGPT by talking to it on my phone. I can get a text reply that I can capture and send to my Evernote database, or I can listen to the reply and use it to stimulate my thinking.
It's an indispensable thinking companion.
Beyond Information Sharing
The collaborative nature of conversation
It's important to remember that when we engage in conversation, it's not just about passing on information. We're engaging in a joint process of reasoning and thinking together.
In other words, it's not just about each person sharing what they know, but rather a dynamic exchange of ideas and perspectives, where the combined intellect of all participants can lead to more comprehensive and well-rounded insights. This cooperative aspect of conversation is what drives not only successful knowledge sharing but, far more importantly, knowledge creation.
The Importance of Teaching Respectful Conversation
A necessity for a healthy society
Watch this brief video, which is under 2 minutes long. It shows a young woman asking a question of Allen West (an American politician) in an aggressive manner.
I wonder where she learned this confrontational style. She likely picked it up from observing professional interviewers and politicians exhibiting similar behavior. Of course, I could be mistaken.
In schools today, students aren't taught how to converse and engage respectfully in dialogue.
It's high time we placed more emphasis on teaching the art of respectful and productive conversation.
The Journey of Knowledge and Innovation
A historical timeline
I have a post in my blook chronicling the significant events in human history that have shaped our knowledge and advancement over the millennia. Beginning with the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, it touches on pivotal moments like the rise of the first cities 9,500 years ago, the invention of writing 5,500 years ago, the printing press in 1450 CE, and the Scientific Revolution in the 1500s.
Zooming out to view the full scope of history gives perspective on how far we've come in a relatively short period. After emerging as modern humans 200,000 years ago, much of our progress has occurred in just the past 80 years since we entered the Anthropocene.
Studying our collective past reveals patterns in how ideas develop and provides lessons we can apply to the future. While the entire post covers a broad sweep of time, I aimed to summarize each era concisely and readably. There are links to dive deeper into any topic.
I hope this high-level timeline will inspire you to learn about the inflection points and innovations that have shaped human civilization. Understanding where we've been allows us to make better decisions as we progress.
Let me know which chapters of history you find most fascinating!
You can read the complete post here Brief History of Knowledge
Knowledge Summit Dublin
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 10th -11th June 2024
The Dublin Knowledge Summit is scheduled for 10th-11th June 2024, hosted at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. This event provides a conducive environment for learning and networking and has an impressive roster of speakers from various industries.
The summit's agenda includes sessions structured to last for one hour, divided into three parallel tracks. Each session is designed to commence with a 20-minute presentation, followed by a 40-minute collaborative segment aimed at developing actionable solutions and insights.
Additionally, John Hovell and I will facilitate a Knowledge Café focused on Conversational Leadership, inviting participants to engage in meaningful dialogue and exchange ideas on the subject.
You can find more information and register here: Knowledge Summit Dublin.
Conversational Leadership Coach
A custom GPT
I am developing a custom GPT model using OpenAI’s GPT Builder, which I am designing as a conversational leadership coach. The model is being trained on the principles outlined in my blook about Conversational Leadership. It offers an experience similar to ChatGPT but with a more comprehensive, deeper, and nuanced understanding of Conversational Leadership.
I am still training the model, which frequently provides responses that don’t fully align with my perspective on Conversational Leadership. Additionally, like any AI tool, it sometimes generates incorrect information.
Unfortunately, you must be a ChatGPT Plus subscriber ($20/month) to access the bot, but if you are a subscriber, take a look. Also, browse the other bots in the GPT store.
Help Keep My Work Alive
Sustaining 25 Years of shared learning and conversation
For almost 25 years, I've been sharing the Gurteen Knowledge Letter each month, and many of you have been reading it for five years or more. My Knowledge Café also reached a milestone, celebrating its 20th anniversary in September 2022.
If my work has made a difference to you, I'd be grateful if you could consider supporting it. A small monthly donation or any one-off contribution would greatly help cover some of my website hosting costs.
Thank you to the 50+ patrons who have already supported me - your generosity means a great deal.
Unsubscribe
Unsubscribe to the Knowledge-Letter
If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please reply to this email with "no newsletter" in the subject line. I'll be sorry to see you go.
The Gurteen Knowledge Letter
A monthly reflection on Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management
The Gurteen Knowledge Letter is a free monthly email newsletter designed to inspire thinking around Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management. You can explore the archive of past issues here.
If you're not already subscribed, you can sign up to receive it by email each month.
Feel free to share, copy, or reprint any part of this newsletter with friends, colleagues, or clients, as long as it's not for resale or profit and includes proper attribution. If you have any questions, please contact me.
David Gurteen
Gurteen Knowledge
Fleet, United Kingdom
