What do we learn by comparing sourdough and AI?
🍞 Sourdough & AI 🤖
Click a card to reveal the research note.
Question: Are you grabbing Wonder Bread off the shelf, or are you the baker shaping prompts like dough, adjusting tension and temperature, coaxing collaboration into something alive?”
One big question
What are you baking for, speed, support, or selfhood? Bread-making and AI-use both look simple on the surface, but the biggest effects often happen out of sight. The goal is not to pick human or machine. The goal is to choose the right relationship to the tool.
Good outcomes come from noticing small signals over time, smell, rise, texture, and adjusting gently.
Good outcomes come from noticing what AI changes in your thinking, your voice, and your relationships.
Kvietkute, D., & Ness, I. J. (2026). Encountering generative AI: Narrative self-formation and technologies of the self among young adults. Societies, 16(1), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc16010026
Meng, J., Zhang, R., Qin, J., Lee, Y.-J., & Lee, Y.-C. (2025). AI-mediated social support: The prospect of human–AI collaboration. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 30(4), zmaf013. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmaf013
De Freitas, J., Nave, G., & Pontoni, S. (2025, December 17). Research: When used correctly, LLMs can unlock more creative ideas. Harvard Business Review.
De Freitas, J., Oğuz-Uğurlu, Z., Uğurlu, A. K., & Pontoni, S. (Forthcoming). AI companions reduce loneliness. Journal of Consumer Research.