221B.ai Manifesto

Writing is the earliest knowledge storage system dating back to the 4th millennium BC. This is a dramatic amplification of a human fantastic ability: language. Writing has extended intelligence. Indeed, a rather practical definition of intelligence could be language in many areas which can be stored as human knowledge into writing.

As language is about arranging objects in a meaningful structure ad infinitum, writing expresses an idea into symbols from one individual mind to a community sharing knowledge. Knowledge comes into very different forms which are always expressed into different languages such as Mathematics, Literature, Philosophy, Medicine, Painting, etc.

Knowledge is the only one commodity that multiplies when given. Writing was the first industrial revolution: for the first time in the history of mankind, knowledge could be transmitted to masses. The most reliable vehicle of knowledge is language and writing is its storage.

The most valuable asset of a 21st century institution, whether business or non-business, will be its knowledge workers and their productivity.

Peter Drucker — The Effective Executive, 1966

Influenced by the definition of Knowledge Workers from Peter Drucker in 1966, we decided to humbly pursue one human superpower : knowledge transmission through writing. After the tremendous inventions of printing, computers and more recently Artificial Intelligence, 221B.ai is doing smart content completion as you write with the right information within your own chosen local disks and folders, e-mails, clouds, internal documentation, academic subscriptions, social media, slides photographs, video conferences, podcasts… You don’t have to focus on knowledge, just focus on comprehension and meaning.

Better a well formed head than a full one.

Montaigne — Essays, 1580

When human beings invented writing, we could take notes when someone was speaking. So we transferred memory into writing. When Mankind invented printing afterwards, all the memory of historians, philosophers… (the “ancient” knowledge workers) was then stored into books. The invention of the computer embraces the same principle: today nearly all the knowledge of mankind is now stored on computers, clouds and databases. Knowledge has never been so accessible! On the downside it is becoming harder and harder to find what really matters.

People are still struggling to write because this is a difficult effort even today. 221B.ai simplifies that writing process by smashing several knowledge barriers, namely:

• We are drowning in the uncurated, unverified, potentially fake information from the internet swamp;
• While at the same time, among the huge number of reliable information sources, searching into them one by one is unrealistic for regular documents writing;
• Information is unfortunately still locked-up in foreign languages, sounds, images and videos in terms of products (which we consider as an outrage as text conversion technologies are mature enough).

The reason why 221B.ai exists is for providing an effortless tool for knowledge. Concretely, our technology suggests content for writing and bursts the afore-mentioned walls seamlessly. We do believe that through communication, humanity gets smarter and stronger. This was always true from the first fireside gatherings, to the rise of the internet today: writing is key for human progress.

You have a dollar. I have a dollar. We swap.
Now you have my dollar. We are no better off.

You have an idea. I have an idea. We swap.
Now you have two ideas. And I have two ideas.

That’s the difference.

Universal Wisdom

In those times of crisis we believe it is vital to better share knowledge.

Pascal Fite and Warith (Joe) Harchaoui
221B.ai — Summer 2020 in Paris