Did you know that Native Americans likely had global trade routes? Gen AI does.
Ken Pulverman
New Division or Startup B2B Leader & CPO | + Strong Product Marketing & Marketing Leadership | Former Oracle | Siebel | Model N | Driven Core IPO Process | Paved Path for Multiple Exits
So I went down the Gen AI rabbit hole on the plane last night. I found it was a particularly good use of the available free wifi paired with my tiny screen. I was comparing the adobe bricks used in the past in Saudi Arabia (something I had just seen in person) and those used by Native Americans to see if they were essentially the same. It turns out they are.
It then dawned on me to check if you could use AI to uncover ancient wisdom locked away in a multitude of obscure papers and journals
It then dawned on me to check if you could use AI to uncover ancient wisdom locked away in a multitude of obscure papers and journals that would take days to discover and read. The simple answer is yes.
I asked it which herbs or herbal compounds Native Americans used that we are or probably still should be using. It came up with several. I don't live in a yurt and don't aspire to, but I thought it was an interesting question to unlock my premise.
Google Bard's response came back with two herbs not native to North America - one from India and one from Africa. My immediate thought was that AI was hallucinating and hadn't properly checked this answer against my prompt so I pushed further.
I asked to to uncover the evidence that these herbs were actually used by Native Americans given that there was no global transportation system at the time. Bard found a paper that revealed that Ashwagandha seeds from India, used to treat anxiety, stress, and insomnia where found in a cave in Utah. Amazing. Not only would there have to be a global trade network for this to happen, there is quite a lot of the sophistication in the application of this particular herb. Someone had to be diagnosed with anxiety and stress and they would then have to be prescribed this compound sourced from afar involving ships, language translations, and payments. Whoa. It also provided other proof and references that Ashwagandha was indeed used by Native Americans.
An LLM unlocked wisdom that most people would never see and made connections most people would never make.
If this power isn't blowing your hair back, you may be attempting to multitask. Are you back now? An LLM unlocked wisdom that most people would never see and made connections most people would never make. Apply this same recipe to corporate innovation, political decision-making, or material science and it becomes a mind bender. Statics-based LLMs are not per se intelligent, and most experts say they don't at all qualify for Artificial Generalized Intelligence or AGI, but they certainly do a good job of playing one on a laptop at 40,000 feet.
So we can now mine nearly our entire recorded past for developing our future and this has been democratized and it is no longer the privilege of a handful of experts and academics.
It begs the question, what is your most burning knowledge gap for your own future plans and have you tried finding an answer or the bread crumbs you need in an LLM?
Below was my detailed conversation with Google Bard if you want to see the blow by blow.
PROMPT: What are the list of Native American natural herbal drug compounds that we still use today and what are arguably some that we should still be using based on their health benefits?
Native Americans have a long and rich history of using herbal medicines to treat a variety of ailments. Many of these herbal remedies are still in use today, and some are even being studied by modern scientists for their potential health benefits.
Here are some of the most common Native American herbal drug compounds that are still used today:
Here are a few examples of Native American herbal drug compounds that are being studied for their potential health benefits:
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PROMPT: You mention at least three plants that were native to other continents that Native Americans used for ailments. How did they get ahold of these elements given the lack of global transportation at the time of their use?
GOOGLE BARD RESPONSE:
There are three main theories that explain how Native Americans may have obtained plants from other continents for medicinal purposes:
Trans-oceanic contact: Some scholars believe that there were limited instances of pre-Columbian contact between Native Americans and people from other continents, such as Polynesia or Asia. These interactions could have led to the exchange of plants and knowledge about their medicinal properties.
Long-distance trading networks: Native Americans had extensive trading networks that spanned vast distances across the Americas. It is possible that these networks extended to other continents, allowing for the exchange of goods, including plants.
Natural dispersal: Some plants, such as coconuts, have natural dispersal mechanisms that can carry them across long distances. It is possible that some of the plants Native Americans used for medicinal purposes arrived via natural means, such as by floating across the ocean on currents.
It is important to note that the evidence for pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact is still debated, and the extent of these interactions is not fully understood. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that Native Americans had more contact with other cultures than previously thought.
Here are some specific examples of how Native Americans may have obtained plants from other continents:
Coconuts: Coconuts are native to the tropical Pacific islands, but they have been found in archaeological sites in South America and the Caribbean that date back to before the arrival of Europeans. It is possible that coconuts arrived in the Americas via natural dispersal or through contact with Polynesian seafarers.
Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are native to South America, but they were introduced to the Old World by Spanish explorers in the 16th century. It is possible that sweet potatoes were introduced to Asia through earlier contact with Native Americans.
Tobacco: Tobacco is native to the Americas, but it was later introduced to Europe and Asia by European explorers. It is possible that tobacco was introduced to other continents through earlier contact with Native Americans.
The question of how Native Americans obtained plants from other continents is complex and remains a subject of ongoing research. However, the evidence suggests that Native Americans were not isolated from other cultures and that they had a sophisticated understanding of the natural world.
PROMPT: What specific evidence exists that Native Americans had obtained and were using Ashwagandha?
GOOGLE BARD RESPONSE:
Ashwagandha is a plant that is native to Asia and Africa. It has been used in traditional Indian medicine for centuries for a variety of ailments, including stress, anxiety, and insomnia.
There is some evidence to suggest that Native Americans may have obtained and were using Ashwagandha. This evidence includes:
Archaeological evidence: Ashwagandha seeds have been found in archaeological sites in the Americas that date back to before the arrival of Europeans.
Ethnographic evidence: Some Native American tribes have traditional knowledge of Ashwagandha and its medicinal properties.
Linguistic evidence: Some Native American languages have words for Ashwagandha, which suggests that the plant was known to these cultures.
However, it is important to note that the evidence for Native American use of Ashwagandha is not conclusive. More research is needed to confirm that Native Americans were using this plant for medicinal purposes.
Here is a more detailed discussion of the evidence for Native American use of Ashwagandha:
Archaeological evidence: Ashwagandha seeds have been found in archaeological sites in the Americas that date back to before the arrival of Europeans. For example, Ashwagandha seeds were found in a cave in Utah that was occupied by the Fremont people between 1000 and 1500 CE.
Ethnographic evidence: Some Native American tribes have traditional knowledge of Ashwagandha and its medicinal properties. For example, the Navajo people use Ashwagandha to treat a variety of ailments, including arthritis, fatigue, and insomnia.
Linguistic evidence: Some Native American languages have words for Ashwagandha. For example, the Cherokee word for Ashwagandha is "ugalakuna," which means "winter medicine."
The evidence suggests that Native Americans may have obtained and were using Ashwagandha. However, more research is needed to confirm this and to determine the extent to which Native Americans used this plant for medicinal purposes.
I hope this helps! Is there anything else that you'd like to know?
Indeed. Lots.
Ken Pulverman is a Silicon Valley software executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience in large and small software companies including multiple C-Suite roles in both Product and Marketing in growth companies resulting in three successful exits and an IPO. Ken is currently taking a sabbatical year as part of his commitment to lifelong learning. He is pursuing a second masters in Product Management at Carnegie Mellon University where in addition to completing the degree, he is also teaching has written a book on product management that he is putting the finishing touches on. Simultaneously, he is pursuing a yearlong CEO certificate program through the University of California, Berkeley. At the end of this year, Ken will begin a part-time (weekends) Doctorate of Business Administration remotely with SDA Bocconi School of Business, Milan. Ken will return to a full-time industry role starting in 2024.