Overloaded

It’s been a while since my last post (10 weeks to be exact!).

Lots going on in the world, in Ampersand, in my family, and with my friends.

I have been meaning to get back on the proverbial Monday Thought horse.

But it has been hard to sit down and truly open up again.

Friends say just use AI to write this next edition so you can get back into it.

But I can’t.

As excited as I am for the prospect of the latest and greatest developments in technology to help make our collective quality of life better,

I refuse to let it drown out my voice,

my ideas,

my feelings,

or my thoughts.

Although I never made it explicitly known: in the beginning of this newsletter I relied heavily on LLMs doing most of the articulation for me.

I justified it to myself by telling myself: I’m training the model with my previous writing, it is using my tone, and I am carefully collaborating and editing for authenticity.

Sure, it made it easier to expose myself, get used to building in public, and take my shot.

And honestly, it worked.

I built a habit, a routine, and optimized from there.

As editions went on, I started writing the bulk of the thoughts myself and noticed something magical happening.

Not only was engagement increasing as more of my stream of thoughts directly hit the digital page (without LLMs to “enhance them”), but my own mind was waking up.

Maybe it has to do with consistently exercising, eating well, minding my hydration, and prioritizing my sleep.

Maybe it was holding on to a main idea and letting it marinate in my head for a whole week.

I remember I told Natalie one day, my mind feels like I’m 19 again.

In a sense, I felt like I had rescued my inner voice, my inner child, my true self.

That’s when I committed to launching both the Ampersand Foundation and Ampersand Ventures in 2026.

That’s when I may have overextended myself.

But now that I have been able to work on the scaffolding of those initiatives, I’m coming back here.

Yes, because there is a chance that I might help you navigate this moment in technological evolution together with me,

but to be honest,

selfishly,

also because it helps strengthen my inner voice and push back against the conformity of delegating my thinking to the machines.

And with each edition I say loudly: this is me, I am human, I am alive, and these are my thoughts.

[#33] My longest consecutive streak was 18 last year, let’s see if I can beat it.

🎉 Happy birthday Jen!

And happy belated New Year everyone → I hope this is your best year yet!