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“FeedShyWorm”: A Human-AI Collaboration Case Study

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On March 10, 2024

In Uncategorized

You can follow the actual conversation through this link: ChatGPT – Collaboration with AI on new game(openai.com)

gist of referenced code: https://gist.github.com/kody-w/019b788107b359dc7cf10fe477bb17a4

replit: feedShyWorm.py – Replit

Game GIF explanation: player is moving the grey dot (the food) to try and make impact with the worm’s “head” block. If that happens you get one point. Try to get as many points as you can but the heat gets turned up when the worm continues to grow with each piece. The highest score I have been able to achieve before knotting up is 8 (so far!).

When we dive into the realm of artificial intelligence (AI), we often find ourselves at a crossroads of potential and partnership. It’s a dance between the algorithmic agility of AI and the nuanced intuition of human creativity. Recently, I embarked on a project that exemplified this synergy, breathing new life into the classic ‘Snake’ game by reimagining it as “FeedShyWorm.”

The Genesis of “FeedShyWorm”

Like a nostalgic tune remixed for a new generation, “FeedShyWorm” reinvigorates the simple joy of the ‘Snake’ game with a twist—here, the player tempts a worm with food, indirectly steering its growth and ensuring its survival. The challenge? To grow the worm without entangling it into a self-made knot.

The Symbiotic Workflow

AI provided a solid foundation for the game’s development, offering a library of coding patterns and potential solutions. From rendering the game window to defining the worm’s wriggling motion, AI-generated pseudo-code laid out a clear path forward. Yet, it was human oversight that steered the project, filtering through the AI’s suggestions to find the perfect blend of innovation and tradition.

AI: The Technical Muse

In this collaboration, AI shone as a technical muse, suggesting complex algorithms for the worm’s growth and navigation. It handled pathfinding and error resolutions, effortlessly juggling logical structures to suggest efficient and robust solutions.

Human: The Creative Conductor

The human element brought irreplaceable intuition and judgment to the table. From the game’s initial concept to its final nuances, it was the human touch that molded AI’s raw output into a game that’s engaging and enjoyable. The decision to make the worm grow by two blocks with every piece of food and to introduce a game-over condition based on consecutive self-collisions came from a place of understanding the player’s experience—something AI is yet to grasp fully.

The Perfect Pairing

The crazy thing is this work took just a few hours of this collaboration work. If I were to do this task just by itself, I would have to invest A LOT more time to get the same result and I would argue that it is trivial work compared to delivering the actual value of the game.

The true beauty of “FeedShyWorm” lies in its balance. AI’s strength in handling the complexities of code is paired with the human ability to infuse emotion and appeal into the game. The AI proposes, the human disposes, and the result is a game that respects the player’s intelligence and capacity for strategy.

Conclusion: The Harmonious Blend

“FeedShyWorm” is a testament to the potential of human-AI collaboration. AI’s contributions are invaluable, but without human ingenuity, they are merely pieces of a puzzle waiting to be put together. This case study exemplifies the most optimal use of AI—to amplify human creativity, not replace it. Together, they unlock new dimensions of innovation, leading to outcomes that are greater than the sum of their parts.

As we move forward, “FeedShyWorm” stands as a prime example of this collaboration process, showcasing that the best way to harness AI is in tandem with the unique aspects of human creativity. Here’s to many more human-AI partnerships, where we explore uncharted territories with the wisdom of experience and the insights of intelligence—artificial and otherwise.

Until next time, remember—it’s not just about the code; it’s about crafting experiences. Experiences that teach us, entertain us, and most importantly, bring us together.

AutoGen AI: Powering the Next Brilliant Leap in Artificial Intelligence

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On October 12, 2023

In Uncategorized

It is undeniably an exciting era to be living in. We have witnessed revolutions in the technology industry through innovations like ChatGPT, which altered how we interact with machines. However, the unveiling of AutoGen AI now takes this progression to a whole new dimension.

Why Is AutoGen AI a Big Deal?

  1. Autogen introduces two revolutionary concepts that set it apart: the User Proxy Agent and the Group Chat Manager. These features are designed to address the challenges of feedback incorporation and scalability in multi-agent systems, ensuring a more intuitive and effective collaboration between humans and AI.
  2. User Proxy Agent: A New Era of Feedback Integration: One of the challenges in AI development has been the integration of user feedback into the AI’s learning process. Autogen’s User Proxy Agent innovatively tackles this issue by acting as an intermediary between the user and other AI agents. This agent not only facilitates communication but also ensures that user feedback is seamlessly incorporated, allowing for real-time adjustments and improvements. Whether it’s refining a data analysis task or adjusting parameters on a complex model, the User Proxy Agent ensures that your input is valued and acted upon.
  3. Group Chat Manager: Scalability and Collaboration: Collaboration is at the heart of Autogen’s philosophy. The Group Chat Manager expands the framework’s capabilities by allowing multiple AI agents to work together on a given task, mirroring the collaborative efforts seen in successful human teams. This tool is not just about adding more participants to a conversation; it’s about creating a synergistic environment where each agent contributes its unique strengths towards a common goal. From strategic planning sessions that require diverse perspectives to complex project management tasks, the Group Chat Manager facilitates a level of collaboration previously unattainable.
  4. Practical Applications and Beyond: The real-world applications of Autogen are as diverse as they are impactful. Imagine a scenario where AI agents, each specializing in different aspects of software development, collaborate to identify bugs, write code, and optimize performance—all while incorporating feedback from the development team in real-time. Or consider a content creation pipeline where AI agents handle research, draft initial outlines, and refine content based on editorial feedback, streamlining the production process while enhancing quality.

How AutoGen AI Can Change the World

  1. Accessibility To Complex Technologies: With its user-friendly design, AutoGen AI can make complex technologies accessible to end-users, democratizing the benefits of advanced technology.
  2. Reinventing Industries: AutoGen AI could revolutionize industries like healthcare, logistics, and more by automating and optimizing process workflows, aiding intelligent decision making and predictive analyses.
  3. Accelerate Innovation: The AI provides a seamless interface for coders, software developers, and data scientists to interact with advanced algorithms. This interface can accelerate innovation across a myriad of sectors.
  4. Foster Collaborative Learning: The self-learning attribute of AutoGen AI encourages a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing among users leading to holistic development.

The unveiling of AutoGen AI establishes a new milestone in the realm of artificial intelligence. It is an innovation that may drastically alter how we perceive and aid the integration of AI in our everyday lives. It is a symbol of the future!

I can’t wait to see how AutoGen AI will change the world one task at a time.

GitHub link: microsoft/autogen: Enable Next-Gen Large Language Model Applications. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/pAbnFJrkgZ (github.com)

The AI Revolution: Embracing the Next Generation of 10x

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On April 4, 2023

In Uncategorized

Introduction

The landscape of technology has undergone a monumental shift with the explosion of artificial intelligence (AI). This next generation of technology rivals the steam engine in terms of productivity gains, transforming the way we work and live. As AI continues to advance, every programmer now has the potential to become a 10x programmer, provided they know how to harness the power of AI effectively.

The AI Code Revolution

AI’s ability to write code has revolutionized the software development industry. However, AI-generated code still requires human intervention for review and quality assurance. This new dynamic has led to the emergence of a new role – AI code review managers. Programmers now have the opportunity to morph into these managers, overseeing the work produced by AI and ensuring it meets the necessary standards.

The 10x Multiplier: Harnessing AI to Boost Productivity

My AI avatar generated on Midjourney

With AI’s ever-growing capabilities, everyone can now become 10x more efficient at their jobs – as long as they know how to use AI effectively. This dramatic increase in productivity extends beyond the realm of programming, encompassing a wide range of fields and industries. The key to unlocking this potential lies in understanding how to leverage AI to enhance our own skills and expertise.

Asking the Right Questions

In this new AI-driven world, the most important skill for the coming decade could be knowing what questions to ask AI to get the desired outcomes. The ability to communicate effectively with AI systems and guide them towards producing valuable results will set individuals apart from the competition.

The Great Divide: Those Left Behind

As AI continues to advance at an exponential rate, there is a risk that some individuals will be left behind. Those who fail to adapt and embrace AI technology may struggle to keep up with their peers who have successfully harnessed the power of AI. It is crucial for everyone to recognize the potential of AI and invest time and resources into learning how to use it effectively.

My AI Avatar describing one of my blog posts.

Conclusion

AI has brought about a new era in technology, with the potential to reshape our lives in ways we never thought possible. As programmers and professionals across all industries, we must adapt to this new reality and embrace the benefits AI has to offer. By learning to harness AI effectively, we can unlock the potential of 10x productivity gains and secure our place in the AI-driven future.

Go forth with AI!

Child starting the climb up the stairs

Essential Skills for My Career in Technology So Far

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On July 2, 2022

In Uncategorized

Introduction

When starting out I did not know what skills were needed in a technology career. Is success inventing an iPhone, building the next Linux distro, hacking into the most secure systems (white hat hacking of course), learning everything about the entire stack of the computer from bare metal to the Operating System to eyeballs looking at the screen, or is it solving LeetCode questions on a white board at a FANG company (this is not what real tech work looks like at all).

It is easy to get so intimidated that you give up on the field. You cannot do all those things at once to be the fabled 10X programmer so why even try? It’s too hard. Especially if you do not fit the common mold of the geek that is expected to be the one to succeed in the field.

Focus

Dedicate all your brain power to solving one hard problem at a time. If the problem is too big, cut it up into smaller big problems and solve one at a time. If you solve all the small problems with focus one at a time you also unlocked solving the scary big problem without the overwhelm. Focus is key.

Patience and persistence

Patience and persistence come into play when you will not be great at a new skill. It is unrealistic to think you are going to win the Tour De France the same day you learn how to ride a bike. This type of thinking makes people stagnant because it is uncomfortable not being very good at something when you are an expert and have full confidence in another skill. This needs to be pushed past – out of the comfort zone where the growth lies.

Be an eternal student

Listen to feedback, stay humble, and put personal improvements into action. Use the internet as your bigger, better second brain. Being able to describe the problem faced so that Google/StackOverflow/Bing/DuckDuckGo/Reddit/SomeRandomBlog can help lead you closer to the answer.

Prove stuff out

What works on paper does not always work in the real world. Do quick and cheap experimentation on solutions to make sure the path forward is not a cliff. Taking calculated risks and committing fully to grow and achieve big things. If you fail, then you need to utilize grit and staying power. When you get knocked down always get back up, smile, take a break to rest and regroup, and try again. You only fail when you stop trying.

Ability to cram information very quickly

If there is one skill that I have taken from my formal education, it is the ability to cram my head with information before a fast-approaching deadline. Maybe I procrastinated and waited until the night before the big test, but this is how the real-world works. You might get one night to prep for a big demo you know nothing about, but you need to be the expert by tomorrow morning. In my opinion this is the most important skill in our modern world: to be targeted to a skill at hand and not trying to keep everything in your head all the time. You might forget certain things, but you can go back and cram quickly to catch right back up.

Become the best in the world at one thing

Target your focus to get as good as you can on every aspect of the subject. Consider this your comfort blanket to build confidence and reputation as you rise in your career.  Use it as your “beachhead” to learn other content faster. You learned tech stack A, learning tech stack B will have some similarities that can help you take efficient shortcuts in cramming to get good at the new skill. This can be taken too far. One pitfall of specializing is to be pigeonholed into only your useful specialized skill.

Watch out for the dinosaur trap

In tech it is crazy how fast you lose skills if you do not use them every day. Tech skills are like a muscle: use it or lose it. Get hungry for the eternal learning adventure to not get stagnant.  If you do not brush up from time to time you will wake up one day and the skill will be gone. This is where good notes and cramming comes in to save you. 99% percent of all technology is unknown to every human. Step up to learn. Step up to do what needs to be done at this moment by facing the unknown even if it is not glamorous or flashy. If the project needs someone to reverse engineer archaic solutions no one knows anything about, then jump on it! It is useful for moving forward.

Teach what you learn

If you cannot explain a topic to someone else, you have not fully grasped the subject.

Richard Feynman

To teach is to learn the subject a second time. Write down the path that you went down to reach a solution. This might seem like a waste to you but when you need to cram again because you haven’t done it in two years this will catapult you back to expert status in a fraction of the time. Use your writings to help others reach the mountaintop you just climbed. They will greatly appreciate your help and you will strengthen bonds. If you cannot teach it, then more cramming is needed to become an expert quickly! Do not let perfect get in the way of good. Fight the ego trap of reinventing and improving the wheel if you can quickly take the wheel off the shelf to use. Find the fastest way to solve the problem and make improvements when they are needed. Do what you can with what you have at this current moment to make a positive impact.

Leveraging the work of others

Keep up with the community. Read blogs by experts in the field. Stand on the shoulders of giants to accelerate your ability to solve a problem. Watching YouTube content on new or old features to get up to speed. Exploring, trying yourself from tutorials, and expanding the tutorials from there to solidify your learning and to add more value to the content out there.

Walk in everyone’s shoes

Empathy is the most underrated skill in the modern world.  From the end user to the developers to the business customer to build something that is useful you need to see where the pain exists and help define it in a way that technology can solve. If there is no useful problem that is solved the created technology is nothing but a misguided, expensive toy.  Always fall back to the question: what does this solution solve for whom? The answer might not even be technology. If this is not the core behind every action then the whole effort is a massive waste of time, money, and energy. Empathy is the guide to stay on the path to solve the most impactful problems first.

Conclusion

This might seem like a lot of skills to get good at (it is!) but if you at least keep them in mind when something is not going right, or you need some direction because you feel stuck, they are a path forward to progress. They have helped me immensely when I needed a catalyst to get me to grow.

Enjoy their use!

9 Tips to Make Learning Suck Less

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On February 20, 2016

In Uncategorized

Education does not stop when school is out. The best way to get ahead of the competition is to outlearn them everyday. In the words of Steve Martin, you have to “become so good that they cannot ignore you.” Learning will always be apart of the recipe for growth and advancement throughout life. Listed are a few points of wisdom gained when journeying out to learn in new and unknown areas. Hopefully this guidance can help out along the way when starting out!

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ”

― Alvin Toffler

1. Finish One Task

The mind weeps when there are too many choices on where to decide to put effort, make the decision easy by focusing on a single book or course. Make it your sole goal to finish that project of learning before you start on some else. When I start to struggle with one topic, I feel myself wanting to pull away and find else, leading to quick hopping between material that leads to basic levels of comprehension. I want to avoid the jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none conundrum, so avoid this slumping habit. Focus on a concentrated progress.

2. Invest in yourself

There are weird motivating factors that drive the process – and strangely when funds are invested into the learning process it is more difficult to give up. Wasting the money spent is hard to do – especially compared to simply walking away from something that was found for free – you have no skin in the learning game! This does not need to be a large sum – for example look for Udemy courses that are on sale or have coupons searchable on google – they typically drop the price from hundreds of dollars to around 5-15! TeamTreehouse also has a student discount if you share with them your email address from that institution.

3. Use a curated course – FreeCodeCamp Udemy, Treehouse, Udacity

 

Some people are more disciplined than others – if the idea of finding material seems daunting enough – reach out to a highly rated online course. These options are increasingly daily – and they allow for built in structure and guidance.

4. Use a book

 
The book is with you in this struggle, it is harder to put off. It will show you the effects of your struggle, the book will tear, smear, and show life where a PDF or online document stays boringly static. The marks on the book tells the story of your journey.
You can file away that PDF, but the book is harder to ignore. It reminds you when you see it sitting on your desk that you should keep going with your progress. I love looking at the book and see how far I am by looking at my dog-eared pages tucked away inside, it makes me feel like I am moving forward like nothing else.
If a book will be used – I recommend going straight to Amazon and typing in certain keywords for the topic. Try to find the book that is up-to-date, has a decent amount of reviews, and is the highest rated. Read the reviews to ensure the book is right for you. This process will help ensure you are not going to be soured by the purchase of the text.

5.Take the time you need for progress

Trying to hurry up the learning process is like expecting a tree to grow in a few days. Learning is a marathon, not a sprint.

6.You will get overwhelmed – Do not stress

Set a timer for 20 mins and fall asleep when tired from learning. It is always surprising how this little cat nap can reinvigorate the mind.

7. Learn everyday – even if it is 5 minutes – it counts.

This helps establish the habit of learning – which is more effective than cramming information in huge sessions periodically. Five minutes is all that is needed to establish the act of learning when downtime arises.

8. Publish your journey online

Work that is not online means little to nothing to the outside world.
If a tree falls in a forest with no one around does it make a sound?
Set up a twitter account to post progress.
I started doing this because I theorized that an ongoing record would be more substantive than simply saying I completed some learning. But, this twitter account became a motivating factor when I got down in the dumps and frustrated. When I looked back at what I had done, I could show myself real strides. This reinforcement helps when you need it most. A surprising and unexpected outcome that makes me highly recommend you do the same.
Make a personal blog
Set up a blog to put updates on what you are working on, basic information about yourself, and possibly your resume and a link to your twitter account were you are posting more granular progress reports.
When making a blog – start small – even a single page with a few sentences, name, and bio is better than nothing!

9. Do not stop

There will be points when you would rather watch television or browse the internet instead of using your time for learning. Your mind will think hard and fast for excuses why you do not want to do it anymore. In these situations, I have found that if I tell myself I will accomplish one chapter or at least one exercise, then I will be okay for that day. This way I will not feel guilty for doing other things, if one keeps a habit, progress will be made. Do not force yourself to do too much right away, pacing is key to establishing a learning trend.

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