Collaborating with AI - Brainstorming and Feedbacks

The other day, I wrote an article and posted it to Gemini for critiques, have it asked me questions regarding my arguments, and point out weaknesses. I got shredded by Google's AI.  It basically said my arguments were not only weak but they run counter to each other and while it understand what I was trying to convey, it made no sense to it. 

As the writer, I persisted but I did make some changes to my article and published it. I did not go in for a second round of potential pounding. But then I thought perhaps I should. Many times, I have good ideas for a story or article with strong starts but weak finishes or have no idea where I should go after the first couple of paragraphs.

Perhaps, that is where AI comes in. I use AI to brainstorm  but in situations where I am stuck, I feel compelled to get myself out of the situation. Right now, I do not have that issue as I am merely sharing my experience in this regard and want to determine whether using AI at this point is in any way a betrayal of my humanity at all. 

Perhaps, I should simply adapt. When I find myself in a situation where I need help to go further in my writing, there is no shame is using ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to have a look at my story. Tell me where I went wrong, pivot, or offer suggestions on how to continue. 

As with brainstorming sessions, asking AI for help crafting learning plans, or using it to help me make my article better, I am still going to write all of my articles and stories. I can choose to accept the feedback from the AI or not. At the end of the day, if such a use of AI makes my writing better, I can accept that because it is still my writing.

Critisizing My Writing With AI, Comic Creating And AI's Role as Someone To Keep Me On Track

I want to fulfill a childhood dream of writing and drawing some of my stories from when I was just starting middle school. Adventures with my friends in fantastic worlds all created in my mind. I have been writing for years and I finally decided it was time to share it with the world. At the very least, anyone who care to read it. And I used both ChatGPT and Gemini as sounding boards for this purpose. It was a very interesting feel with both offering great advices. I ignored most of them because I wanted my stories to be mine. With the exception of grammar or writing in the present or past tense, I felt I used AI to help me explore my fictional characters and worlds more enjoyable.

Here are also other AI uses:

• Looking to go to Japan with at least some basics of understanding Japanese, I asked Gemini to me with using the 80/20 rule or something as close to it as possible - not simply the words and phrases of a tourist but someone who lives in Japan. 
• I've watched videos of coding on YouTube and it does not do it for me. So I decided to focus on why I want to do. Vibe coding is great but I do want to have a basic understanding of coding. I want to create a choose your own adventure app in Python but I want Gemini to teach me only the portion to creating such an app. I am further along in two days when I have been since I started watching YouTube videos on coding. 
• We created an online store just after the pandemic. We put in some effort on drop shipping. It was fun. We also wanted to migrate to having a more full fledge store with our own inventory supporting the work from home workforce.  However, with the Trump tariffs and the uncertainty that it brought, we decided to pivot and move onto to more of content creation. We used Gemini as a sounding board on our core idea to pivot. We do hope to return to selling physical products in the future.
• I used ChatGPT to plan my evenings. This was interesting because I only gave it my current routine. A simplified but accurate version of what we do each evening. I also asked for 90 minutes where I can work on my projects. It rearranged my evening. I'll give it a go and let you know how it goes.

The most important thing I learned about AI this week is that while privacy may be a concern, the more I was willing to share to provide context, the better the AI was at helping me along with my projects. For our online digital content project, I asked for how we can get something up and running within a month. I felt we can do better - within two weeks. It did not work out as planned. So what happened. I asked Gemini why and it was able to help me come up with a realistic timeline and workflow to get it done. We tried that the last two days and we achieved quite a bit. 

I would suggest giving the AI of your choice the role of a monitor. Someone who is able to keep you on tract. It and help with issues like not knowing what to do to get started to you just procrastinating.

iBook: Why This Classic Name is Perfect for Apple's New Foldable iPhone

I am looking forward to the iPhone Fold. However, the name just does not do it for me. Perhaps the perfect name for the new Apple Fold is the iBook. When released in the second half of next year, it will resemble a book because of its form factor. Other than features that Apple will likely differentiate from fold competitors, in calling its own offering the iBook will bring allow Apple to circle back to a time when computing was fun and the continuing Apple comeback in the consumer computer market.

The original iBook, launched in 1999, was more than just a computer—it was a statement. With its colorful, translucent design clamshell iBook looked like nothing else on the market. It was fun, approachable, and ready to use out of the box. This playful spirit and focus on making technology personal and enjoyable for students and consumers is the exact legacy a new "iBook" could bring back to the Apple brand and the book form iPhone due to be released in late 2026.

By calling the iPhone Fold the "iBook", Apple can achieve a number of marketing goals and messages to the market:

• Reintroducing fun to mobile computing. The book form is entirely new to Apple users. the iBook will introduce completely new computing and mobile uses. Chose between one or two screens or a bigger one. For example, multi-tasking has been a difficult issue for Apple to tackle. Now, with two panels becoming one big one, something like Stage Manager or the new windowing mechanism in iOS 26 may allow users to do more.
• The return of candy-colored nostalgia. Imagine the marketing campaign from Apple. On top of that, with iOS 26 and a revamped and more powerful Siri, Apple can make the iBook the everyday device that users will want for work, home, and fun in the commercials. The colorful schemes will make the iBook stand out from the gray, black, and cold metallic colors competitors offer. 
• Many longtime fans feel Apple has lost the scrappy, pirate spirit of its past—the era of the 'Think Different' campaign and underdog spirit. Today, some view Apple as a corporate behemoth focusing only on shareholder value and is always cold and calcuating. By resurrecting the iBook name, Apple wouldn't just be launching a new product; it would be sending a powerful message to its fans that it hasn't forgotten its innovative, rebellious roots.

What does Apple's competitors have? No legacy items or names like the iBook exist for them. Not Samsung or its Chinese competitors. This "iBook" and its features that Apple has planned for it will indicate to the market that Apple has not forgotten its roots, history, and will continue to innovate and give users the tools they need for decades to come.

More on Apple Fold (iBook) - iPhone Fold Could Be the iPad mini Pro If It Runs Supports iPadOS Features and Apple Pencil

iPhone Fold May Be the Professional Version of the iPad mini

A segment of iPad users have been asking for the iPad mini Pro for years because they want something more powerful. Apple may finally grant these users their collect wish. 

For simplicity, let's call the iPhone Fold the iFold. It will like include some of the latest tech that Apple has to offer.

• Latest Apple Silicon
• Smaller high-density battery to provide battery life that will provide battery life similar to the iPad. However, it is doubtful the battery life match those of the iPhone
• New in-house modem and Wi-Fi chips
• Crease-free display
• New camera system
• IPadOS-like multitasking and windows

Perhaps there could be other features and surprises from Apple for the iFold. One of the often missing features that I want on the iPhone that Apple has yet to provide is Apple Pencil support. Will the iFold support Apple Pencil?

In addition to the features mentioned above, simply being a folded form factor will not be enough for the iFold to be considered a Pro version of the iPad mini. The iFold needs the following support:

• Apple Pencil - a customized version of the Apple Pencil. I do not know if it will support all the features the current Apple Pencil Pro has but it does not have to. At minimum, I can live with being able to draw and write on the iFold
• Mouse and keyboard - All iPhones and iPads support Bluetooth keyboards. The iPads native has Bluetooth mouse support but support on the iPhone is in a bit of a gray area. The iFold has to support the mouse in the same way the iPad does.
• External monitor support. 

The question, and what’s really exciting, is whether we will get any of these features. I am going to go out on a limb and say yes and no. The things about today’s Apple is that you have to be careful what you wish for. At best, they provide us with a feature that we did not know we wanted. At worst, they give us a feature that is so uniquely Apple that users either feel it falls short or just outright hate it. 

Which will it be? Apple still has another year to work out any features they want the idols to have. The iOS team will have a year to learn from user experiences with multitasking and windows and may make some improvements for iOS 27

Whether the iFold is considered to be the pro version of the iPad mini or just a regular old iPhone Fold, there is definitely a lot to be excited about. Smartphones with the fold form factors have been around for at least seven years. Being late to the party has given Apple a lot to see and gauge. There will no doubt be a lot of people including myself who are excited and will be ordering it on day one.