Orientation for the age of AI
Guides to help you understand what is shifting, how it affects you, and what to do about it intentionally. Not a link dump. An orientation layer. Understanding comes before action — so guides come before tools here.
QIQ earns a small referral fee on some links — always disclosed. We only list what is genuinely used or verified. Never paid placements.
Start here — four guides to understanding the shift
The shift from search to interpretation explained plainly. Why AI systems form representations rather than retrieve results — and what that means for everyone with a name, a brand, or an idea on the internet.
A practical guide to creating a PersonAI file that actually works — what to include, how to structure it, and how to keep it current as you and your work evolve. Personal and Public modes explained with examples.
How structured context changes what AI produces — and what you get back. The difference between prompting and context engineering. Why the first 200 words of any AI conversation determine most of what follows.
LSA, OLV, DIV, Phynom Flow — the concepts behind QIQ explained without jargon. Why meaning precedes visibility. How the framework applies beyond AI to every context where meaning travels between minds.
These guides are the entry point. The PersonAI Files — case studies in what the mirror shows — go deeper. Read the Files →
Books that shaped the thinking
The foundational text for understanding how technology reshapes thinking — not just what we do, but how we think. Essential context for the QIQ worldview: AI is not just a tool, it is a cognitive participant. Carr's analysis of the internet's effect on deep reading anticipates what AI is doing to meaning.
Han's quiet, precise observation of what optimisation culture does to human presence. The register QIQ aspires to — observational, not alarming, restrained. Also directly relevant: in a world of constant AI-mediated output, stillness and intentionality become radical acts.
The philosophical anchor for "still and becoming." Heidegger's inquiry into being, time, and presence — what it means to exist authentically in a world of distraction — underpins the Keen on Living register and the AI & I thesis. Not easy reading, but the ideas surface throughout the ecosystem.
The scientific foundation for understanding cognitive bias — and why the Sycophancy Vector is so dangerous. Kahneman's System 1 and System 2 thinking maps directly onto what happens when humans interact with AI without intentionality. The founder in File 01 was operating on System 1.
Lanier's argument for human specificity in a world that flattens people into data points. Directly relevant to the Public PersonAI concept — the insistence that you are not reducible to your AI representation. The book that asks: what is lost when meaning becomes signal?
Affiliate links to Amazon. QIQ earns a small commission — at no extra cost to you. We only list books we have read and genuinely recommend.
Tools we actually use and recommend
Curated and verified. Every tool here is something we genuinely use or have tested thoroughly. Affiliate links are disclosed inline — the recommendation always comes first.
Build your file once. Paste it at the start of any conversation — Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity. Store it in Notion or Obsidian. The file is yours, portable, and works anywhere.
Build your PersonAI file →If you use a tool that belongs on this page — something genuinely useful for AI-assisted work, personal knowledge, or meaning alignment — let us know. We vet everything before adding it.
hello@qiq.co.zaAffiliate links are marked inline. QIQ earns a small commission on some purchases — at no extra cost to you. Recommendations are never paid placements.