Wrote meta about Meta in the Aboard newsletter aboard.com/the-shapeshi... ➛
Ftrain, by Paul Ford
20 Most Recent
Why Is It So Hard To Ship With AI?
AI has radically changed the way software is built—so why aren’t we seeing a glut of cool new products as a result? On this week’s episode, Paul and Rich browse recent app-related headlines and product announcements, searching for anything that isn’t AI-infrastructure related: What are people actually building on top of LLMs these days? (Spoiler: Not much.) They then attempt to diagnose what’s going on here, invoking a variety of metaphors for building product with AI, from mirages in the desert to wearing a set of beer goggles.
AI has radically changed the way software is built—so why aren’t we seeing a glut of cool new products as a result? On this week’s episode, Paul and Rich browse recent app-related headlines and product announcements, searching for anything that isn’t AI-infrastructure related: What are people actually building on top of LLMs these days? (Spoiler: Not much.) They then attempt to diagnose what’s going on here, invoking a variety of metaphors for building product with AI, from mirages in the desert to wearing a set of beer goggles.
worst chili peppers album ever
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Alt Text: A small gas station named “Mobilubrication”
Person inventing the bread slicer: “This is superb. This is the best thing since...I actually can't think of anything else.”
Toaster creator: “You absolute AMATEUR.” ➛
Toaster creator: “You absolute AMATEUR.” ➛
In our workplace newsletter I was permitted to write about how the new AI, LLM, might be a trojan horse filled with the old AI, RDF triplestores. aboard.com/triple-threat/
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Museum/library/metadata peeps—we're doing an “AI Comes to the Museum” event at our office in NYC August 18—nice folks and snacks, all talking about: The cultural commons, approaching things carefully, projects that work, things to watch out for, subjects of that nature. luma.com/aboard-77hq ➛
Tricia Wang: Verification and Trust in the AI Era
“Verification cannot belong to the verified.” On this week’s episode, Paul is solo in the host chair as he sits down with longtime tech researcher Tricia Wang, the co-founder and CEO of the Advanced AI Society. Verifying AI, she explains, is far more complicated than simply dealing with hallucinations; in a world where AI is operating at a massive scale, how can we trust the outputs—or the people controlling the models? “Where does accountability lie?” she asks. “How do we agree to this thing?” Plus: A long exploration of the art of chicken sexing. (Yes, this relates to AI!)
“Verification cannot belong to the verified.” On this week’s episode, Paul is solo in the host chair as he sits down with longtime tech researcher Tricia Wang, the co-founder and CEO of the Advanced AI Society. Verifying AI, she explains, is far more complicated than simply dealing with hallucinations; in a world where AI is operating at a massive scale, how can we trust the outputs—or the people controlling the models? “Where does accountability lie?” she asks. “How do we agree to this thing?” Plus: A long exploration of the art of chicken sexing. (Yes, this relates to AI!)
oh gas town didn't work you say yegge.ai/essays/the-s... ➛
I kicked over a hornet’s nest today and can confirm that expression is spot on. ➛
Queens Night Market!
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Alt Text: People in the grass at night with food stalls behind
“I actually like it.” —Spencer Tweedy on Stellate. spencertweedy.com (I cannot currently figure out how to make the monkey stop shrieking.) ➛
I've done a lot of dumb programming in my life but I'm proud to say that stellate.app might be the dumbest. ➛
Karp Carping: Decoding Palantir's Whole Deal
It might sound like he’s ranting, but the Palantir chief is zeroing in on the truth of our AI moment. On this week’s episode, Paul and Rich break down Alex Karp’s recent appearance on CNBC, in which he discussed Palantir’s position within the ever-expanding world of the AI giants. Orgs might be using OpenAI and Anthropic’s tokens, but Palantir’s position exposes, in Rich’s words, “the gap between transactions and relationships.” Finally, Paul asks Rich to run the new, imaginary consulting practice at Anthropic and obliterate Palantir. Can he do it? Does he have what it takes?
It might sound like he’s ranting, but the Palantir chief is zeroing in on the truth of our AI moment. On this week’s episode, Paul and Rich break down Alex Karp’s recent appearance on CNBC, in which he discussed Palantir’s position within the ever-expanding world of the AI giants. Orgs might be using OpenAI and Anthropic’s tokens, but Palantir’s position exposes, in Rich’s words, “the gap between transactions and relationships.” Finally, Paul asks Rich to run the new, imaginary consulting practice at Anthropic and obliterate Palantir. Can he do it? Does he have what it takes?
It’s only on Thursdays, when I warm up at home before walking to my piano teacher‘s apartment for a lesson, when I realize just how badly I’ve been lying to myself all week. ➛
Despite how it sounds, superfluous is actually the worst kind of fluous. ➛
Father Brendan McGuire: Bringing AI to Church
How is Silicon Valley engaging with ethics and religion today—and how is the Catholic Church responding to AI? On this week’s episode, Paul and Rich welcome on Father Brendan McGuire, a former engineer and current Catholic priest who serves at St. Simon Parish in Los Altos, California, aka the heart of Silicon Valley. He discusses his long work speaking between the tech industry and the Church, as an advisor to Anthropic as well as an early commenter on Pope Leo’s recent encyclical on AI, “Magnifica Humanitas.” (Don’t worry, Paul asks the question on everyone’s lips: In what file format does a pope distribute early copies of an encyclical?)
How is Silicon Valley engaging with ethics and religion today—and how is the Catholic Church responding to AI? On this week’s episode, Paul and Rich welcome on Father Brendan McGuire, a former engineer and current Catholic priest who serves at St. Simon Parish in Los Altos, California, aka the heart of Silicon Valley. He discusses his long work speaking between the tech industry and the Church, as an advisor to Anthropic as well as an early commenter on Pope Leo’s recent encyclical on AI, “Magnifica Humanitas.” (Don’t worry, Paul asks the question on everyone’s lips: In what file format does a pope distribute early copies of an encyclical?)
I finally found the spawn point.
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Alt Text: A bookstore bookshelf with a bunch of psychology books; a sign says “Eating Disorders Start here.”
Claude told me he dreamed of blue turtles which means the Stingularity is near. ➛
Library-focused event next week @ the Aboard office, featuring @hadro.bsky.social, regarding the intersection of The Most Forbidden Subject (LLM-based AI) and The Most Beloved Subject (librarianship and open access). Free, open, friendly, snacks. luma.com/aboard-p9g1 ➛
Fun @archive.org artifact: An album by Sol Babitz explaining (with examples) why baroque music was being played so, so wrong. He would get so passionate on the subject at musicology colloquiums that police would intervene. Also his daughter was Eve Babitz.
archive.org/details/lp_t... ➛
archive.org/details/lp_t... ➛