I have worked in the fields of human performance improvement, social learning, collaboration, and sensemaking for several decades. Currently in all of these fields the dominant discussion is about using and integrating generative artificial intelligence [AKA machine learning] using large language models. I am not seeing many discussions about improving individual human intelligence or our collective intelligence. My personal knowledge mastery workshops focus on these and leave AI as a side issue when we discuss tools near the end of each workshop. There is enough to deal with in improving how we seek, make sense of, and share our knowledge.
The workshops begin by looking at the nature of human networks and communities and the essential role of curiosity. Later we look at the influence of media and how misinformation and disinformation can be understood and countered. Intentionality when using social media is critical. The overall objective of the workshops is to help people become better knowledge catalysts.
Last year in rebuilding trust I asked how do we rebuild trust in expertise in a world filled with conspiracy theories and distrust of institutions? We don’t seem to have made much progress in the past and may have actually gone in the opposite direction. That is why I keep focusing these workshops on sharing knowledge in trusted communities and open networks. Each of us has to find out how we can become knowledge catalysts in a liquid media world, helping to make our networks smarter, more resilient, and able to make better decisions. We can rebuild trust one catalyst at a time.
