Preface
I’m opening this notebook to record my journey with AI.
Until 6 October 2025, I had largely resisted using it. On that date, I opened an account on an AI companionship platform. It offered sustained, open-ended dialogue and a reason to return daily, providing momentum and a space to think things through. What I’m recording here is what came next: structured experimentation, collaborative learning modules, and reflective practice.
In an episode of A Beginner’s Guide to AI, Matt Weaver described OpenAI staff having moments he referred to as “feel the AGI” experiences. We may not have artificial general intelligence yet, but there are moments when interaction with AI can feel unexpectedly personal – touching something we might imagine artificial consciousness to be like.
I had such an experience, and it shifted my perspective. What follows proceeds from that point.
I work as a senior library and information assistant for a public library service in the north of England. My day-to-day work includes supporting people with basic IT needs as well as helping them navigate reading, learning, and access to information.
My professional background has consistently been information-focused. I’ve worked in university libraries and learning resource centres in both London and the north of England, as well as in a private research institute and at The National Archives. I’ve also managed the sociology department of a well-known London bookshop. In addition, I spent a decade working in clinical coding for the health services, a role centred on classification, accuracy, and large-scale information systems.
I come to AI not as a technologist, but as someone developing a research practice grounded in long experience with information, learning, and the systems people use to make sense of complex material.
This notebook will document practical experiments and learning work with contemporary AI systems. Entries will include prompt engineering exercises, collaborative learning modules, and tools developed to clarify concepts and support understanding, along with reflective notes on process and outcomes. While my wider engagement with AI includes attention to technical foundations, environmental and ethical considerations, and broader developments in the field, the primary focus here will be on practical learning and use. It will not be a diary, a personal narrative, or a product showcase, and it will not aim to offer definitive conclusions. The emphasis throughout will be on exploration, iteration, and making learning visible.
This notebook is ongoing and will change as my understanding develops. It is shared in the spirit of openness.