You might have noticed my slide illustrations in my last substack. This week I talk about how I made them: using AI, supported by an R package that turns yaml into images. You'll learn a bunch of my tricks, including how to get a consistent style across slides.
Personally, I find pretty much all AI-generated graphics, including cartoons like these, off-putting aesthetically. Maybe, I'm in the minority with this, but I actually have to fight through my disgust with them to read your posts, which I otherwise find very helpful.
The illustration/diagram distinction feels especially useful for clinical AI communication.
For OR-adjacent tools, an illustration can make a workflow feel approachable, but a diagram has to carry source, owner, uncertainty, and blocked-action state. If the AI output is not editable enough to correct those fields, it can make the idea look clearer while making the safety surface harder to inspect.
That is a helpful design boundary: use generation for atmosphere, but keep the operational diagram human-editable and source-aware.
Personally, I find pretty much all AI-generated graphics, including cartoons like these, off-putting aesthetically. Maybe, I'm in the minority with this, but I actually have to fight through my disgust with them to read your posts, which I otherwise find very helpful.
Big props from this Minnesotan on the “ope just gonna scooch on by ya there”
While I am from “down in Iowa”, I can approve that the phrase is authentic 👌🏻
A very Midwestern saying there Hadley, well done.
Love this. Thank you for sharing!
This is great! Ever since seeing the Swedish style folk art you had as one of your bananrama themes, I have been OBSESSED.
Ewwwwww Hadley 😭
The illustration/diagram distinction feels especially useful for clinical AI communication.
For OR-adjacent tools, an illustration can make a workflow feel approachable, but a diagram has to carry source, owner, uncertainty, and blocked-action state. If the AI output is not editable enough to correct those fields, it can make the idea look clearer while making the safety surface harder to inspect.
That is a helpful design boundary: use generation for atmosphere, but keep the operational diagram human-editable and source-aware.