David Millard

Over the last six months, I have been frequently writing about my adventures with AI, particularly my observations on its relationship to hypertext, which I increasingly see as a key predecessor technology with much to teach this new upstart.  

As I have explored human–AI interfaces, the blog has naturally taken a similar shape. I have published articles on stochastic computing, the Sisophian plateau, and software that writes itself. I have now decided it makes sense to move this type of exploratory writing outside my main blog and create a dedicated Substack, which gathers together all my thoughts and reflections on my AI journey, and is hopefully a bit more visible and discoverable.

It is called The Stranger’s Notebook, and you can find it here.  

Why “the stranger”? The name comes from Georg Simmel’s notion of the stranger: a figure who enters a group from the outside, bringing new perspectives, new information, and the freedom to express themselves in ways that differ from the group. That is how I feel entering the world of AI.  

I am a computer scientist, but my interests are firmly in the human domain. For more than a decade, I have worked in interdisciplinary teams with colleagues from across the university and beyond, studying sociotechnical systems and examining the human costs and consequences of new technology. I think my perspectives on AI draw on my hypertext foundations and a web science perspective. It sometimes makes me feel a little bit of an outsider in the AI world, but I hope that creates productive friction and interesting viewpoints.  

I will continue to put everyday updates on this blog, but please check out my new Substack space if you are interested in my writing about AI. I’ve copied across my current set of blog articles and published my first new post, which is inspired by the notion of the stranger. This time, I look at AI as a stranger and consider how taking that role might ultimately be more valuable than current models of personalisation, which tend to drift towards sycophancy.  

My intention is to write articles fairly regularly, as ideas arise from my research and thinking about human–AI interaction. Please subscribe to the substack if you’re interested.

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and strangeness!