Paul Welty, PhD AI, WORK, AND STAYING HUMAN

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The work of being — a newsletter on AI, judgment, and staying human as work transforms.

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Past newsletters

We always panic about new tools (and we're always wrong)

3 February 2026 • Edition 6

Printing press, typewriters, photography, calculators, recorded music—every time a new tool emerges, we predict disaster. We're always wrong about what's worth protecting.

Files are permanent. Databases are not.

27 January 2026 • Edition 5

Why choosing files as your source of truth matters more than you think—and what happens when you don't.

Sometimes friction is your best friend

20 January 2026 • Edition 4

The pause that makes you think might be the most valuable part of the system.

Busy is not a state

13 January 2026 • Edition 3

Activity doesn't count. Only state change does.

When teaching stops being bounded

6 January 2026 • Edition 2

From scarcity to abundance

When your brilliant idea meets organizational reality: a survival guide

1 December 2025 • Edition 1

Is your brilliant idea being derailed by organizational inertia?