Towards Authored Use A Twin Ladder body of work
2026
Making the human visible

Towards
Authored Use.

The path to AI that develops the practitioner rather than replaces her — seven conditions, five practices, one direction.

The promise everyone wants to make about AI is true: as the machines take on more routine cognitive work, the most valued human capabilities can become more visible, not less. But it does not happen on its own. This body of work is the path.

  1. The essay — Making the Human Visible The long-form argument. Why authored use, what the philosophy says, what the empirical literature shows.
  2. The path — Seven conditions, five practices The operational brochure. Each condition with a test. Each practice with a Monday move.
  3. The slides — Ten pages The argument walked through, LinkedIn-square, suitable for sharing.

By Alex Blumentals · Twin Ladder

The Seven Conditions of Authored Use A classical wheel diagram. Seven wedges arranged around a central marked point representing the human. Each wedge is one of the seven conditions of authored use. Proportion lines radiate from the centre to the outer ring. the human at the centre i Practitioner owns the criterion ii Friction preserved iii Community before model iv Apprenticeship paths protected v Capacity without tool vi Authored use is legible vii Internal goods recognised Seven conditions of authored use The human at the centre, the apparatus around her.
The seven conditions of authored use. The human stands at the centre as a marked point. The seven conditions form the apparatus around her — the structural geometry of being made visible rather than disappearing into the work.