While a bit tangential to your point here, I really bristle at the equivalence between technology and institutions, even in relation to these decisions about delegation. Institutions are, after all, just groups of people - people with their own senses of implications, responsibilities, and judgments. If I'm delegating (in some sense) to an institution, then there is at least the potential and possibility of collective care, community, responsibility, even relationship. One instance where this hit home for me was in talked to our former college dean (over 1500 faculty and tens of thousands of students) about a really tough decision he'd made where it wasn't so clear what all the implications were. He had the simple response that he made decisions based on what he thought was best for the students and the rest - he assumed - would work itself out.
Anyway, something to think about. The use-case purpose of a technology and the mission statement of an institution are, I think, fundamentally different things.
Hello! Would love to learn more Steven Garber. Any suggested reading? As always thank you for this! I was just relying on AI to write a piece i was asked to, and these reflections will surely help me be mindful of my own thresholds and not delegate life too much. best,
Life cannot be delegated. I will think about this for a long time!
Along with the context of technology, this concept is of great relevance for a working mother and her time. The main tool provided to us (passive voice...that's interesting), at least in professional mentoring, is that we should engage in substantial delegation. Obviously one starts with things like housecleaning and child care, but I know people who hire personal assistants to manage their family schedule (everything from managing sports to the school "pajama day") and who hire semi-ghost-writers for some of their writing that isn't going in academic journals (I suppose that's an obvious overlap with AI "opportunities").
Gary Snyder is still alive!! Please take out that “late!”
Indeed! I've fixed it on the live web version. Not sure how I got it in my head that he had passed.
He's old! It could have happened. So glad it hasn't!
Re your 5th footnote, I would love to read those two pieces soon!
While a bit tangential to your point here, I really bristle at the equivalence between technology and institutions, even in relation to these decisions about delegation. Institutions are, after all, just groups of people - people with their own senses of implications, responsibilities, and judgments. If I'm delegating (in some sense) to an institution, then there is at least the potential and possibility of collective care, community, responsibility, even relationship. One instance where this hit home for me was in talked to our former college dean (over 1500 faculty and tens of thousands of students) about a really tough decision he'd made where it wasn't so clear what all the implications were. He had the simple response that he made decisions based on what he thought was best for the students and the rest - he assumed - would work itself out.
Anyway, something to think about. The use-case purpose of a technology and the mission statement of an institution are, I think, fundamentally different things.
Hello! Would love to learn more Steven Garber. Any suggested reading? As always thank you for this! I was just relying on AI to write a piece i was asked to, and these reflections will surely help me be mindful of my own thresholds and not delegate life too much. best,
Life cannot be delegated. I will think about this for a long time!
Along with the context of technology, this concept is of great relevance for a working mother and her time. The main tool provided to us (passive voice...that's interesting), at least in professional mentoring, is that we should engage in substantial delegation. Obviously one starts with things like housecleaning and child care, but I know people who hire personal assistants to manage their family schedule (everything from managing sports to the school "pajama day") and who hire semi-ghost-writers for some of their writing that isn't going in academic journals (I suppose that's an obvious overlap with AI "opportunities").