About Knowledge Machine

People easily forget what they read. A few days later, I forget what I felt and understood, what my first impression was, and how I might use it.

Knowledge Machine is a personal knowledge system and an ontology. It assumes that AI can help me process human knowledge faster and augment what I know, then puts that assumption into practice.

The original material is transformed into a normalized format, which I, as the system's user, use with AI to learn and create new knowledge.

As the system's user, I, Jonghyuk Kim, use AI to reflect on my own thinking. It helps me organize information useful to me more quickly, distinguish what I understand from what I do not, and turn what I have learned into new knowledge.

A system for augmenting human knowledge

For Douglas Engelbart, augmenting human intellect meant improving the capabilities of an entire working system: a human using tools, language, methods, and a computer together. Knowledge Machine is an information system in which a computer works with me, Jonghyuk Kim. It makes it easier for me to understand complex information and turn it into something new, work that used to demand all of my own will and energy.

“By ‘augmenting human intellect’ we mean increasing the capability of a man to approach a complex problem situation, to gain comprehension to suit his particular needs, and to derive solutions to problems.”

Douglas C. Engelbart, Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework (1962) · Read the original report

Knowledge Machine handles normalized knowledge at four levels of abstraction. A source becomes a reference; references become knowledge; references and knowledge can become an article.

sourceOriginal material such as web pages, YouTube videos, books, films, and musicthe material itself, before it is processed

referenceA structured reference to one Source, with a summary, quotations, questions, and NotesI talk with AI to understand the original quickly, ask follow-up questions, and leave notes

knowledgeA piece made by combining References: the smallest unit of new knowledge, carrying some of my own perspective and restrained opinionspublished on the Knowledge Machine website

articleA more complex piece made by combining References and Knowledge, with my own opinions expressed more stronglypublished on the Knowledge Machine website; the subjects are varied and often complex

Finding Sources

When I come across a Source I want to comment on, one that leaves a good impression or connects with something I already know, I bring it in. With AI, I turn it into a Reference that records the source, a summary, and key quotations. I also note why it caught my attention.

Studying with References

I read the summary and key quotations in a Reference to understand the Source from different angles. When something is unclear or I want to know more, I ask AI and check its answer against the original. I keep those questions and my thoughts in the Reference. When related References accumulate, I sometimes bring them together as a Knowledge piece.

When I want to write

I tell AI what I want to write about and ask it to find relevant References and passages worth quoting. After choosing my material, I sketch a rough structure and direction and draft with AI. Sometimes I develop that draft over several days. Then I revise the sentences relentlessly. I strip away the unclear intent and painfully lazy wording AI produces and make deliberate choices about my words, what I mean, and how I phrase each sentence until the piece is mine.