Scottish Wisdom for the AI Era

Hey 👋,

I've been reading "How the Scots Invented the Modern World" by Arthur Herman, and it's sparked some fascinating connections to our current AI revolution. Also, i made me realize how little I know about history, so I got some catching up to do.

The parallels between the Scottish Enlightenment and today's AI transformation are striking—and potentially instructive for how we navigate this new landscape.

Learning

The Scottish Enlightenment wasn't just about philosophical ideas—it was about practical application of knowledge. Scottish merchant-entrepreneurs like Andrew Carnegie combined intellectual curiosity with business acumen and frugality. They weren't flashy or entitled like their English counterparts (at the time); they were practical, common-sense driven polymaths who built lasting enterprises.

Sound familiar? It should. Today's most effective AI entrepreneurs are following a remarkably similar path.

Three Key Insights from Scottish History for the AI Era

1. AI as Leverage, Not Replacement

The Scots didn't just create new knowledge—they created tools that amplified human capabilities. James Watt's steam engine provided leverage for physical work; Adam Smith's frameworks provided leverage for understanding complex economic systems.

Similarly, AI is best understood as leverage for human knowledge and intuition. It's not about replacing human thinking, but amplifying it—allowing small inputs of human judgment to produce larger outputs of implementation.

The most powerful use of AI isn't having it think for you—it's having it amplify your thinking.

2. The Human Advantage Becomes More Valuable, Not Less

As Scottish industrialization advanced, the distinctly human elements of craftsmanship and judgment became more valuable, not less. The same pattern is emerging with AI.

Being authentically human is becoming an advantage as AI-generated content becomes ubiquitous. While others use AI to make a quick buck with generic outputs, there's growing premium value for genuine human perspective, judgment, and connection.

The Scottish entrepreneurs who maintained craftsmanship principles alongside industrial efficiency often produced higher-value goods than those focused solely on mechanization. History rhymes.

3. AI Enables Ownership and Agency

The Scottish Enlightenment democratized knowledge and production. Tools and techniques that had previously required guild membership or aristocratic connections became more widely available, enabling people from modest backgrounds to become inventors and entrepreneurs.

AI is creating a similar democratization today. The shift from "I need a developer" to "I can use these tools myself" represents a fundamental change in agency and power dynamics. Solo founders can now build prototypes, test ideas, and launch products with a fraction of the resources previously required.

This democratization of creation echoes the Scottish concept of the "lad o' pairts"—the person of talents who could rise through merit regardless of background.

My Most Valuable AI Use Cases

I've found AI to be incredibly powerful for two specific purposes that align perfectly with Scottish Enlightenment thinking:

Taking emotion out of thinking and analysis

This function of AI parallels the Scottish "Common Sense Philosophy" developed by thinkers like Thomas Reid, who argued for the importance of clear, unbiased observation and reasoning, free from both emotional distortions and abstract theoretical biases.

AI can analyze situations without the emotional investment that often clouds human judgment, apply analytical frameworks consistently, and help identify cognitive biases in our thinking.

Synthesizing information and recognizing patterns

Scottish Enlightenment thinkers were pioneers in identifying patterns across seemingly disparate domains. Adam Smith applied this approach to economics, David Hume to human behavior, and James Hutton to geology.

AI extends this capability by processing vastly more information than any individual could, identifying non-obvious connections between different fields, and recognizing patterns that might contradict our existing beliefs.

Practical Application: The "Scottish Dialogue" Method

Here's a practical approach I've been developing based on these insights:

1. Begin with clear articulation of the problem or question

2. Ask AI to identify potential emotional biases in your framing

3. Request multiple analytical frameworks for approaching the issue

4. Have AI generate counterarguments to your initial thinking

5. Use AI to synthesize a more comprehensive understanding

This structured dialogue with AI mirrors the rigorous but practical questioning approach of Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, helping achieve clearer thinking while maintaining human judgment about which patterns matter and why.

AI Leverage systems I’m building

I'm working on developing frameworks that help people understand how to use AI to increase their agency and ownership rather than becoming dependent on it. This includes:

• Documenting pathways for non-technical founders to build prototypes using AI tools

• Creating decision frameworks for when to use AI versus when to develop skills

• Developing approaches for maintaining ownership of ideas while leveraging AI implementation

The goal is to position AI as an enabler of human creativity and agency rather than a replacement—very much in the Scottish tradition of practical innovation and democratized knowledge.

What I'm Reading

Beyond "How the Scots Invented the Modern World," I'm also reading:

• "The Da Vinci Biography" - Another brilliant polymath with lessons for our age

• "The Empty Raincoat" - On finding meaning in a world of efficiency

• "Creativity, Inc." - On balancing creative vision with practical implementation

Final Thought

The Scottish merchant-entrepreneurs transformed commerce and society by combining practical business sense with intellectual curiosity and moral principles. By viewing AI as leverage for human knowledge and intuition rather than a replacement, we have the opportunity to play a similar role in the emerging AI economy.

In a world increasingly influenced by both emotional reactivity and algorithmic thinking, a balanced approach to AI-enhanced thinking may represent one of the most valuable applications of these new technologies—not replacing human judgment but helping us exercise it more clearly and effectively.

Talk Soon,
Stefan

P.S. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you want to read more learnings centered around books?

How are you using AI as leverage rather than replacement? Reply to this email and let me know.