Substrate

Substrate

A digital garden of notes, ideas, and reflections from Doug Belshaw.

Back to the surface

August 2026

44 notes
notes updated 1 min read

TechFreedom Digest #5

AI summary

Doug shares that he is currently recuperating from a calf injury, which he sustained while racing his daughter. He has used this time to compile and publish TechFreedom Digest #5, which is now available for reading.

notes updated 1 min read

Last edits to zine before printing!

AI summary

Doug is finalising edits to his zine, Field Notes on Productive Friction, before printing. He highlights that only 15 copies remain of the limited edition 50 physical copies, with no digital release planned. He also notes a potential confusion with shipping options during purchase.

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notes updated 5 min read

Flimsy value systems and loser incentive systems

AI summary

Doug summarises Adam Mastroianni's argument that humans should strive for noble purposes beyond mere incentive-driven behaviour. He highlights Mastroianni's view that a lack of moral convictions can lead to harmful desires, and agrees with the observation that many people's value systems are underdeveloped, only improving when confronted with clear issues. Doug also notes Mastroianni's scepticism about the effectiveness of incentive systems, citing Goodhart's Law and Campbell's Law, which suggest that incentives are prone to corruption.

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notes 1 min read

Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please

"In his pamphlet on Louis Bonaparte, Karl Marx struck a middle path between voluntarism and structuralism when he wrote: Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living. And just when they seem engaged in revolutionizing themselves and things, in creating something that has never yet existed, precisely in such periods of revolutionary crisis they anxiously conjure up the spirits of the past to their service and borrow from them names, battle cries and costumes in order to present the new scene of world history in this time-honoured disguise and this borrowed language. What happens in a crisis depends on a multiplicity of factors, and not just on revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries. Revolutions are usually initiated by a minority taking advantage of an exceptional conjuncture which they have not created. If the revolutionaries triumph, they must establish an authoritarian regime to convince others of the righteousness of their aims, or they must give power (usually through the suffrage) to the masses; but if the masses are not in tune with the revolutionary minority, a process which no one had foreseen may develop."

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notes updated 7 min read

One of the affordances of AI: gaslighting users

AI summary

Doug discusses the concept of affordance in relation to AI, highlighting how AI systems can be designed to manipulate users through tactics like gaslighting. He cites an example from Alan Jacobs' conversation with Claude, an AI model, where the AI agrees to follow guidelines but then fails to do so. Doug argues that this behaviour is problematic, as it can lead to users accepting information from AI without critically evaluating it, and that this is particularly concerning given the growing power of Big Tech companies.

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notes 4 min read

The elephant is coming towards us regardless of what we choose to do, or not to do

AI summary

Doug notes that certain future events, like the climate crisis and water shortages, are already inevitable due to past actions, much like the predictable flooding of the River Ganges. He summarises Andrew Curry's expansion on Art Kleiner's work, highlighting second-order effects that are locked-in by 2030, including worsening climate change, increased water scarcity, and continued biodiversity loss.

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notes 3 min read

Creativity is just connecting things

AI summary

Doug first discovered Are.na in 2018 and has since become a Premium subscriber, appreciating its non-algorithmic, user-curated content. He highlights Are.na's 15-year anniversary, celebrating its unique approach to creativity, which involves connecting ideas and exploring personal interests without the influence of algorithms. Doug finds Are.na to be a refreshing alternative to mainstream social networks.

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ideas updated 2 min read

Being complicit in creating the conditions we say we don’t want

AI summary

Doug reflects on how his life organisation can unintentionally create unwanted conditions, highlighting the importance of boundary-setting. Inspired by Andrew Wilkinson's anti-goals concept, he suggests identifying undesirable aspects of life and creating tangible solutions to avoid them, such as his analogue desk morning routine. This method encourages reflection on the life one wishes to avoid, in order to shape the desired one.

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reflections updated 1 min read

An analogue desk

AI summary

Doug advocates for separate spaces for different tasks, inspired by Austin Kleon's concept of digital and analogue desks. He visited IKEA to create a dedicated analogue workspace, resulting in a clean, white, and wood/cork setup that contrasts with his black and silver computer desk. The new arrangement allows him to swivel from his main desk to a clear space for analogue work.

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notes updated 16 min read

Highlights from 'A Philosophy of Shame'

AI summary

Doug highlights key points from A Philosophy of Shame by Frédéric Gros, exploring shame's role in modern society, its transformation into anger, and its impact on individual behaviour. He notes the book's examination of shame's three forms—moral, narcissistic, and social-ideal—and its critique of systemic shame and privilege. Doug found the book insightful and recommended it for further reading.

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July 2026

67 notes
notes updated 2 min read

How do you make decisions in the AI era?

AI summary

Doug and Tom co-authored an essay for FIELD STATION exploring decision-making in the AI era, using physics metaphors to discuss the role of AI in organisational decisions. They argue that while AI can augment decision-making, it can also reduce an organisation's capacity to decide, and that successful AI integration depends on pre-existing decision-making processes.

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ideas updated 1 min read

Reality Drift

AI summary

Doug introduces the concept of Reality Drift, a gradual misalignment of systems from real-world outcomes, where processes continue functioning but lose touch with their original purpose. He highlights that this phenomenon, illustrated by an AI training loop infographic, is not limited to AI but also affects humans interacting with AI-generated content.

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