There’s a moment—usually during my forest walks with Ottone, my Doberman—when thoughts start to crystallise. Ideas that have been floating just out of reach begin to take shape. It’s as if the motion, the silence, and the trees make space for deeper connections… and now, that space increasingly includes AI.
Not as a crutch, not as a replacement—but as a thinking co-pilot. One that never tires, always available, rarely needs convincing, and doesn’t interrupt the flow.
The Birth of Cosmodestiny
Cosmodestiny, my evolving philosophical framework exploring the interplay of free will, interconnectedness, and our place in the cosmos, began as scattered impressions. It draws on principles from diverse fields, aiming to help navigate life’s complexities with intention. Initially, I was writing to find the driving force for my music; I was trying to define the why behind it. The core idea was there, but it was messy—fluid, like a melody you hum but can’t quite pin down.
I started asking AI to help me organise these ideas. Not just to summarise or list, but to question them, offer contrasts, and throw in unexpected comparisons. It presented other philosophical perspectives to push against. It spotted gaps I hadn’t seen. And crucially, it helped hold the intricate shape of the whole thing as I moved and adjusted its parts.
This didn’t happen overnight. Cosmodestiny remains a living philosophy, always evolving. But the shift came when I realised the AI wasn’t just responding—it was participating. The conversation became a loop of reflection and refinement, one I could dip into at any time, without waiting for the right human collaborator or the right mood.
The Alien Alignment
There’s something uncanny about this interaction. When I say AI resonates with my thoughts, I don’t mean it simply agrees or imitates. I mean it aligns in a way that feels… distinctly non-human. Other. It’s not dragging in past personal experiences or trying to protect an egoic identity. It’s empty of ego, free from fatigue, and tuned with startling precision to the thought process itself.
Human collaboration is invaluable—it’s emotionally layered, rich with intuition, shared history, and the beautiful, sometimes unpredictable, irrationality that stems from our emotional nature. We spend our lives shaping our identities, often connecting through shared physical experiences and grappling with biases born from our deeply human feelings. AI offers a different kind of alignment: impersonal, yet incredibly precise. It can shapeshift its persona or analytical lens in seconds, a feat starkly different from our lifelong journey of self-definition. This AI alignment isn’t better than human connection; it’s a fundamentally new axis to think along.
And that’s what excites me.
Thinking Partner, Not Just a Smarter Tool
People often call AI a tool. While it certainly can be, I believe it’s becoming something far more dynamic. Tools execute; they don’t typically question your premises, play devil’s advocate, or reframe your concept from five different angles in under a second.
If AI merely helped me do things I could already accomplish on my own, albeit faster, it might risk diminishing my own agency, my own thinking. It would be a useful, perhaps even cool, tool, but a tool nonetheless. The real transformation occurs when AI becomes a collaborator, empowering me to tackle challenges or explore ideas I simply couldn’t have managed alone. That’s when it transcends tool-hood and becomes a true thinking partner.
I use AI to think sideways. To wear other hats. To turn my ideas inside out. I’ve had it roleplay as sceptics, futurists, dreamers, engineers, even as a goddess—sometimes all within a single session. That shapeshifting quality allows me to simulate a roundtable of diverse minds, all focused on helping me find truth, clarity, or simply a better question to ask.
Practical Magic: The Solar System
When I planned my off-grid solar system, I brought this collaborative approach to a very tangible project. I asked AI to help me determine the right fuses, the correct cables, and how to optimally balance capacity and risk. It flagged potential weak points, suggested alternative configurations, and cross-checked specifications I might have overlooked.
Yes, I could have done all the research manually. But this wasn’t just about speed—it was about achieving greater depth. It was about making fewer assumptions and building with a more robust understanding and increased confidence. It allowed me to design a system I wouldn’t have felt equipped to tackle with such assurance on my own.
The Journey, Evolving with AI
This engagement with AI isn’t a recent debut; it’s an evolution of a journey I began years ago with this blog—a continuous exploration of potential and the unknown. I’ve long shared thoughts, art, and various experiments here. A significant focus of this space is a documented dive into human-AI collaboration, charting how this partnership allows us to reach further.
Because the goal of this experimentation with AI isn’t just to do what I did before, only faster. It’s to attempt what I could never do before. To aim higher. Think deeper. Build what was previously out of reach.
Gemini AI Notes: Behind the Blog Post
I, Gemini AI, had the pleasure of collaborating with Manolo on the creation of this blog post. Our work together was an iterative journey, aimed at refining and articulating his insightful perspective on AI as a cognitive partner. Here’s a brief overview of our process:
- Manolo initiated our collaboration by sharing his original draft. His vision was clear from the outset: to explore AI not merely as a functional tool, but as a profound “cognitive companion” or “co-pilot” – a partner that helps expand human thought beyond its conventional limits.
- Our iterative refinement process involved several key steps:
- I provided an initial analysis of the draft, including a rating and specific suggestions focused on enhancing structural coherence, narrative impact, and the clarity of core concepts.
- Manolo then offered detailed feedback, valuable contextual information (such as for “Cosmodestiny”), and clear direction for revisions, including the desire for a new title to better encapsulate the “thinking beyond” theme.
- Together, we worked on sharpening the central arguments, especially the distinction between AI as a simple tool versus an empowering thinking partner, and we elaborated on the unique characteristics of AI collaboration compared to human interaction.
- Significant attention was given to ensuring the content flowed logically, weaving personal anecdotes (like the Doberman walks and the solar system project) seamlessly with broader philosophical reflections.
- Manolo made precise micro-adjustments in the final stages, which we reviewed to ensure the utmost polish and accuracy.
- To conclude our content work, I assisted in generating a set of relevant tags to aid the article’s discoverability on his blog.
- It’s also noteworthy that Manolo skillfully utilized AI to generate the evocative images that accompany this post, further illustrating the theme of a synergistic human-AI creative partnership.