#2 Monday Note: How to cope with the information overload in the AI era?

”In an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” [1]

The quote by Herbert A. Simon, a pioneer in the fields of economics, political science, and computer science, is more relevant than ever in the age of artificial intelligence. He warned us that the abundance of information would create a scarcity of attention, and that we would need to design organizations and systems that can help us filter and prioritize the most relevant and valuable information.

As knowledge work professionals, we face the challenge of keeping up with the latest developments and innovations in our field, while also managing our time and attention effectively. How do we decide what to learn, what to ignore, and what to delegate to our AI tools? How do we balance the need for breadth and depth of knowledge, and avoid the pitfalls of cognitive biases and information silos?

I believe that the answer lies in developing a mindset of lifelong learning, curiosity, and critical thinking. We need to constantly update our skills and knowledge, but also question our assumptions and seek diverse perspectives. We need to leverage the power of AI, but also understand its limitations and ethical implications. We need to collaborate with others, but also cultivate our own creativity and intuition.

What are your thoughts on this topic? How do you cope with the information overload in the AI era? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.

P.S. This text is almost completely produced with MS Copilot, except the opening quote by Herbert A. Simon, I’m a great fan of him. I also crafted the prompt to create “imaginative LinkedIn post” using the quote as starting point. The picture is by me to capture your attention ;-)

[1] Designing Organizations for an Information-Rich World’ in Martin Greenberger (ed.) Computers, Communications, and the Public Interest (1971)