Part I

Learning to ask better questions

This section begins with two short essays from June 2023: a conversation with my dad, followed by a question about the generation growing up with AI. The phone call comes first because curiosity gives us a personal place to begin. From there, the essays move forward in time and outward in scope.

“Intelligent Machines,” written in December 2023, develops the argument about education, access, and opportunity. “Trusted Guides,” from March 2025, brings those questions into the academic library. “The Dream Machine,” published the following month, returns to the individual and asks what we might make possible in our own lives. Together, they trace a path from asking a first question to helping someone else begin.