In 1997 we talked a lot about “hypertext.” It turned out that hypertext didn’t…

February 9, 2025

In 1997 we talked a lot about “hypertext.” It turned out that hypertext didn’t matter that much. Links are useful, but the web was a new app platform. A new kind of scale, a new mode of distribution, a new set of user behaviors.

Today we are talking a lot about “agents.” (Myself included.) But this seems like a hypertext-ish mistake. (Miss-take.)

Paul Graham@paulg

A few decades from now, when we really understand AI, what about our current understanding of it will seem quaintly rooted in past ideas?

I hope the answer is not the assumption that our understanding of AI is what matters, rather than AI's understanding of AI.