What if I *like* collaborating with other humans?

I’ve been struck recently by the increasing prevalence of “collaborating with” AI, or managing AI agents, as the future of what it means to do knowledge work.  No doubt it is amazing what AI models/LLMs are now capable of, and will be capable in the future – but what if you actually enjoy collaborating with humans, not just computers who act like humans?

When Brad Frost had Ben Callahan on his excellent “Wake Up Excited” video series (link in first comment) they spent some time talking about the power of music, and specifically that feeling of making live music with other humans – and how impactful / transformational that experience can be. It’s not about the output, it’s about the experience, but it changes what you’re able to do in ways that are obvious but difficult to measure.

It made me think of one of the (many!) highlights of my time with 10up, as a fully remote agency: our annual All Hands Summit. This involved getting the entire global distributed team together in the same physical space for three or four days, culminating on the last night with the appearance of The Summit Rumours, our stage name for the company band. (Long story short, it began buried in a series of rumours about the upcoming summit, and the name stuck).

The thing I loved about Summit Rumours was not just that it was a “company band” or that I got to get on stage myself and indulge the inner wannabe rockstar, but that we made very deliberate attempts to include as many people as possible throughout the night.

The metric of success for me was never how “good” the music was – if it had been I might have helped more by sitting out given how professional many of my colleagues were – but how many people got to take part.

It activates different parts of your brain to make things with other people in real time in the same physical space – it is different than doing so asynchronously and mediated through digital

So, in the age of AI, how do we replicate the experience of live collaboration with other humans?

Do we have to alternate between solo-work-with-AI-assistant, engaging (again solo) with AI agents, and working with other humans as three distinct modes? Is anyone doing live collaboration with humans AND AI in the mix at the same time?

Why does it sometimes feel like all digital developments in the last few years have focused on removing the need to talk to other human beings rather than encouraging those connections and facilitating them?

How do you build/strengthen/maintain real communities of humans as work increasingly becomes automated / augmented by AI?

Thanks to all the folks who helped organize Summit Rumours – too many of you to mention without inadvertently leaving someone out.