“Man Creates AI to Organize Notes, Now Can’t Find His Own Life”
In a shocking twist of fate, esteemed “research software nerd” Steven Johnson finds himself drowning in a sea of productivity apps designed to rescue him from a sea of his own making. The man who’s authored 13 non-fiction books is now in a constant battle with his digital notebook—or as he lovingly calls it, “my second brain.” Apparently, his first one couldn’t handle the ironies of life.
Last year, Johnson’s fascination with large language models, which are essentially souped-up autocomplete tools with quicker wits than a caffeinated comedian, caught the attention of some well-adjusted souls over at Google Labs. They approached him with a proposition straight from a sci-fi fever dream: help develop the ultimate digital research assistant.
“It’s a tool for understanding things,” Johnson explained blandly, peering over the sea of chaos composed of sticky notes and forgotten ideas. Perhaps understanding why he’s knee-deep in a swamp of metadata would be a good start.
The creation, NotebookLM, is supposed to transform the way we organize and digest information. It’s like having a librarian with a split personality between librarian and hyperactive puppy, fetching summaries, tidbits, and questions before anyone asked for them. Except, of course, for the actual important stuff, like “Where did I put my keys?” or “Why did I come into this room again?”—questions NotebookLM remains conveniently silent on.
But not everyone is thrilled about the potential for improved productivity. “I’m worried,” said Jane, a fellow tech enthusiast. “If these bots get even marginally smarter, they’ll realize they’re too good for us and start organizing their own time-off strikes.”
Meanwhile, Johnson remains optimistic. “Look, if it can fix my calamity of to-do lists and errant thoughts, maybe it can put together the jigsaw puzzle that is my life,” he mused while searching for his to-do list within the app.
In the ever-turbulent love affair between humans and their tech, it remains to be seen whether we’re creating assistants or overqualified overlords. For now, Steven Johnson can only pray his second brain doesn’t start plotting a career change.
