AI Summary
This meeting brought together four of the core members of the text and XR research group – Frode Hegland, Brandel Zachernuk, Mark Anderson, and Peter Wasilko – to discuss interface design updates to the Author software, reflect on the recent symposium’s success, and address challenges in presenting Peter’s 25-page paper documenting LLMinteractions. The conversation evolved into substantial discussions about community management, with participants agreeing to implement clearer themed meetings to accommodate focused thinkers while maintaining inclusivity, establish better sidebar conversation protocols using Zoom’s direct messaging, and ensure new members feel welcome. Mark Anderson raised critical concerns about AI accessibility creating “haves and have-nots” and shared his discovery that citation mechanics remain undocumented and print-focused, while Brandel emphasized that diversity’s value comes from productive discomfort and noted locally-run AI models offer permanence advantages. The group decided to shift their book project toward “Powerful Text” – a practical guide teaching concrete text manipulation skills rather than purely philosophical discussions – and explored innovative concepts like Peter’s “epi markup” and Frode’s “spoken hyperlinks.”
Participant Summaries
Frode Hegland led discussions on Author software interface design, demonstrated Map functionality as loading screens, emphasized community inclusivity following symposium discussions, and proposed the “Powerful Text” book project and “spoken hyperlinks” concept.
Brandel Zachernuk provided design feedback recommending tap-and-hold over double-tap for menus, shared that his wife Heather flew to New Zealand for a family emergency, expressed skepticism about AI hype while noting locally-run models’ permanence advantages, and articulated that diversity’s discomfort is precisely what makes it valuable.
Mark Anderson reflected on the symposium noting thresholds crossed in AI and XR, raised concerns about AIaccessibility and cost creating “haves and have-nots,” discovered that citation mechanics are undocumented and print-focused through conversations with Marc Bernstein, and advocated strongly for themed meetings without open beginnings or introductions that derail focus.
Peter Wasilko defended his 25-page paper’s length as necessary to show human-machine interplay in LLM development contexts, introduced the “epi markup” concept for embedding machine-readable directives in natural language, explained how stretch text features made his interface lighter but couldn’t be reproduced in documents, and suggested timeline-based meeting structures with reaction spaces.
Important Points Highlighted by Attendees
Frode Hegland stated “it is really, really important to me anyway that people feel very comfortable in the community” regarding inclusivity
Frode Hegland emphasized “one of the things that’s really interesting and cool and useful for our near future is to have text that’s active in a document in a plain text type document”
Frode Hegland stressed “I think all of us in the room right now know what it’s like to be excluded. It’s not cool”
Mark Anderson highlighted the importance of seeing “how many iterations questions it took to get from one end to the other” when using AI, calling this “incredibly valuable”
Mark Anderson raised concerns about AI creating “haves and have nots” since “most people seem to be using more than one” AI system and “very few who are actually using it are doing it on any sort of a free tier”
Peter Wasilko emphasized showing “that interplay between man and machine” as the purpose of his lengthy paper
Peter Wasilko stated “I always like using the term epi markup. When I’m talking about that sort of system, I think it’s helpful to name that phenomenon”
Brandel Zachernuk emphasized understanding “how much of your audience’s time and attention do you think you have and then what best use can you make of it”
Brandel Zachernuk made an important observation that “having a more diverse group is more uncomfortable and less easy… that’s why it’s good… it is harder and makes you try to be more careful. And that’s why it’s better”
Mark Anderson noted the value of understanding citation mechanics beyond just intent: “if you’re going to produce a long form document, you’re going to have to have a method for putting citation anchors into your document”
Frode Hegland highlighted the importance of clear topics when Ken Perlin brings in new people: “we got to make sure that they get whatever they expect for that day”