Tim McKenna

what in the actual fuck did I just watch?

Humor Boomer GIF Humor Boomer GIF

This is my life right now....my CPO thinking "Vibe prototyping our way to alignment and production level code"

I just watched @edzitron.com on The Tech Report about "Irrational Baby Logic" of the current AI landdscape. Amazing!

This is the exact kind of good energy I've needed all week!

What a fucking track!!!!!!!

Holding two positions in my head and hands is difficult.

1) Professionally, AI is a necessary integration into how design is going to work now.

2) Personally...ethically, morally, environmentally, financially, societally, etc. I'm against how AI is working today.

I've slowly been realizing my fashion tastes have skewed towards monastic and cult leader attire.

Unexpected, but not unwelcome.

"birthing a powerpoint over here" somehow sounds even more terrifying than regular child birth.

But as someone who has long appreciated your writings, articles, all of your content....I'm very glad to learn from you.

But seriously...take a sit down or something....powerpoint babies...<shudders>

Wait until you get interviewed by an AI Chatbot.....

Dear lord....that's insane they said that to you in an interview.

You're right....it's a damn tool! It's not magic, it's just an enabler at best.

My current company uses Notion almost exclusively.

It sucks. It's just become the same crap level organization that Google Docs is.

I'm in agreement with you. The Cult of AI is so....demoralizing and pathetic.

Overall, my interest in technology for good is constantly waning against my need for "real" experiences.

I care about all of these things....and the same time I struggle with saying "Fuck it, lemme jus go outside and let tech burn."

Two fundamental issues at play here, but the do clash for me.

The biggest issues holding open-source tooling back are:
- Usability; many tools just suck from a usability standpoint.
- Steep learning curve, even if it's a perceived one
- Documentation is written for seasoned pros (if any exists at all)
- Support...supporting open-source requires investment

I find my interest in open-source tools is growing each day as my continued disillusioned feelings towards big tech grow fervently.

I align more with non-profits, coalitions, foundations, and open licensing from an ethical viewpoint. Service over profits.

For years, I've toyed with the ideas of focusing purely on open source and design; meaning designing open source tooling and writing open documentation. I've also struggled balancing my interests in technology against my dire need for offline activities. That balance has always been wobbly.

I feel the same way. I still practice a ton of privacy focused practices and protocols, but overall I find myself becoming more and more offline and the little online I am, I feel my practices still fall short.

I'm not an AI Doomer, but I am very skeptical of AI companies. I honestly don't know what the end goal...christ...any goals are anymore.

It's obviously not the betterment of humanity...that shit is clear.

My township put snow plow updates on Facebook and not on their website. I only found out about because my wife has facebook.

I called the township to ask why they only put the updates on Facebook. Their response:

1) we dont know how to update the website
2) Why don't you have facebook?

FFS

If more product teams thought about content design, they would immediately begin to make more useful products.

Maybe it's still a luddite approach to using AI as a tool...tools like MacWhisper and Quillbot have helped me record, transcribe, clean up more "large writing projects" than ever before.

These are actually fairly simple things for AI to do; take my dorky ass recording and clean it up into written words.

That alone has helped me immensely.

I don't use that approach for every written application, but working on a book idea I've had has taken the barrier of entry down immensely.

I'm not an "AI bro"

Most AI tools, in my experience, take longer to get to a useful result that could have been energy spent elsewhere. But small affordances where AI is helping me transcription, writing, and editing.

Same.

Most days I feel like that John Travolta gif from Pulp Fiction just kinda looking around for what next steps to take (if any.)

Why is setting up a Pi-Hole so frustrating....

Listening to Qobuz's high quality tracks.

Listening to Metallica's "St. Anger" on Qobuz high quality tracks.

...

Nothing can really fix those drums.

I'm out of the loop....but whatever happened with the legal back and forth between Automattic and WP Engine?

I've had more pressing things on my mind lately.

lol. No. Fuck Spotify.

1000% agree!