What are the AI Field Notes?

A transparent look at how Artificial Intelligence is used in this project—what it contributes, where it falls short, and how it shapes the work as it unfolds.

The AI Field Notes are working notes on how I am using artificial intelligence as a thinking, research, and writing partner in the Memoir Project.

They are not tutorials, prompt collections, or product reviews. They are reflections on process: what I’m trying, what helps, what doesn’t, what I’m keeping, and what I’m discarding as the work evolves. Some entries record small discoveries; others document doubts, frustrations, or second thoughts.

I’m writing these notes in public for two reasons. First, because the Memoir Project depends heavily on memory, authorship, and interpretation, and it feels important to make the tools and methods visible. Second, because explaining how something works—especially while it is still in motion—often clarifies what I actually think about it.

The AI Field Notes run alongside the memoir entries themselves. They are usually written at roughly the same time as the vignettes they reference, and links connect the two. Readers interested in the finished narrative can follow the memoir alone; readers curious about the human–nonhuman collaboration behind the scenes may find these notes a useful companion. If the stars align, perhaps even fun and fascinating.

Nothing here is polished or final. These are field notes in the literal sense: provisional observations made while the work is underway. They reflect experimentation, learning, missteps, and revision as much as success.

If you are interested in how AI might (or might not) be useful in your own writing, research, or creative projects, you may find something here worth borrowing—or worth avoiding.