illumi正在打造一款能與真實隊友及虛擬夥伴（AI）即時協作的數位白板。而這套白板的核心，正是我們精心設計的卡片系統。今天，就讓我帶您深入解析這三塊關鍵拼圖的設計理念：Note、Prompt，以及Preprint。
Notes：知識的基石
把 Notes 想像成數位版的索引卡——快速書寫、靈活重組，最適合記錄那些靈光一閃的時刻。靈感來自於「卡片盒筆記法（Zettelkasten）」，這些精煉的知識片段成為了你與 AI 互動的背景脈絡。當你將 Notes 與 Prompts 連結，能幫助 AI 更好地理解你的目標與需求。
Prompts：通往 AI 的橋樑
Prompts 是 AI 協作魔法的起點。在這些卡片上，你表達的不僅是你想完成什麼，更是 如何想完成它。透過將相關的 Notes 連結到 Prompt，為 AI 加入關鍵的上下文資訊——包括你的洞見、需求，以及附加的背景知識，這些都能幫助 AI 提供更深思熟慮、更有針對性的回應。
Preprints：協作智慧的展現
Preprints 是 AI 生成內容的所在地。它綜合了 Notes 中的上下文資料，並依循 Prompts 內的指示完成。你可以將 Notes 認作原料、Prompts 當作食譜，而 Preprints 正是人類知識與 AI 能力共同創造的那道佳餚。
為什麼取名為「Preprint」？
「Preprint」這個名字誕生的過程，也許是我們整個設計過程中最有趣的部分。畢竟，我們是在為一個全新的概念命名——由人類與 AI 共同創作的內容。它比人類初稿更成熟（受益於Note的豐富語境與Prompt的清晰指引），卻尚未達到最終成品。
該如何稱呼這種特殊狀態？「答案(Answer)」聽起來太過武斷，彷彿 AI 不會犯錯。「結果(Result)」感覺太機械化，缺乏我們期望的創意夥伴關係。我們甚至考慮過「草稿(Draft)」，因為這是當今大多數人看待 AI 生成內容的方式。但考慮到 Notes 和 Prompts 為 AI 提供了如此豐富的上下文，稱之為「草稿」似乎低估了這種協作輸出的複雜性。
這時，我們從學術界獲得了靈感：Preprint。
在學術出版流程中，Preprint 代表「尚未經過同儕審查，但已經相當成熟的原稿」，它並不像初稿般粗糙，而是準備好接受集體討論與精煉的作品。
這與我們所構想的概念不謀而合：AI 生成的內容，既要像 Preprint 一樣經過充分的思考與打磨，足夠有價值，但也保持開放性，能夠經由人類的專業知識進一步改進與演化。
學術界 Preprints 的精神也延伸到我們的產品設計理念中：就像學術 Preprint 能夠激發討論與加速知識分享，同時保有高標準，我們的 Preprint 卡片則為團隊提供了一個共同完善 AI 生成內容的空間。它們承認 AI 的輸出雖然有力量，且嚴謹地基於上下文，但仍然需要人類的專業來補足並進一步推進。
回首我們設計這些卡片的歷程，提醒了我們最初創建 illumi 的願景：建立一個人類專業與 AI 能力真正互補的空間。隨著各團隊繼續探索這種全新的協作方式，我們也期待看到大家如何運用這些基石，解鎖更大可能性！😎
As you know, illumi is building a collaborative whiteboard where you can work with your real and virtual teammates (aka AI) in real time. At the heart of illumi's whiteboard lies our strategically designed card system. Today, let me take you behind the scenes of how we developed these three essential building blocks: Notes, Prompts, and Preprints.
Notes: Your Knowledge Building Blocks
Think of Notes as digital index cards – quick to write, easy to rearrange, and perfect for capturing those "aha!" moments. Inspired by the Zettelkasten method, these bite-sized pieces of knowledge become the context for your AI interactions. When connected to Prompts, they provide AI with the background it needs to understand your goals better.
Prompts: The Bridge to AI
Prompts are where the magic of AI collaboration begins. These cards serve as your interface with AI, where you articulate not just what you want to achieve, but how you want to achieve it. By connecting relevant Notes to your Prompt, you provide AI with crucial context – your insights, requirements, and add Notes as background knowledge that help shape more informed and targeted responses.
Preprints: Collaborative Intelligence in Action
Preprints are the cards where AI-generated content appears, synthesizing the context from your connected Notes and following the instructions in your Prompts. Think of Notes as your ingredients, Prompts as your recipe - Preprints are where human knowledge and AI capabilities cook together to create something delicious.
Why “Preprint“?
The journey to name "Preprint" is perhaps our most interesting design story. After all, we were trying to name something that had never existed before - content created by both human and AI together. It's typically more refined than a human's first draft, thanks to the rich context from Notes and clear direction from Prompts, yet it's not quite a final product either.
What should we call such content? "Answer" sounds too final, as if AI can't make mistakes. "Result" feels mechanical, missing the creative partnership we envision. We even considered "Draft," since that's how most people view AI-generated content today. But given how Notes and Prompts provide such rich context for AI to work with, calling it a "draft" would undervalue the sophistication of this collaborative output.
That's when academia gave us the perfect inspiration: the preprint. In academic publishing, preprints are sophisticated manuscripts shared before peer review - not rough drafts, but well-formed work ready for collaborative refinement. This mirrors exactly what we wanted: AI-generated content that hits the sweet spot between first draft and final version - polished enough to be valuable, yet open to evolution through human expertise.
This academic parallel runs deeper than just the name. Just as preprints in academia spark discussions and accelerate knowledge sharing while maintaining high standards, our Preprint cards create spaces for teams to collaboratively refine AI-generated content. They acknowledge that AI outputs, while powerful and informed by your context, benefit from human expertise and collaboration.
Looking back at our journey to design these cards, reminds us why we built illumi in the first place: to create spaces where human expertise and AI capabilities can truly complement each other. As teams continue to explore this new way of working together, we look forward to seeing how you'll use these building blocks to unlock new possibilities in collaboration. 😎
