Friday, April 24, 2026

Good morning. I think the new bi-weekly publishing cadence is really working out. I feel revitalized and inspired. At least on the weeks that I'm not posting the newsletter.

Item 1: a link

The much loved, much hated New York Times has published a bunch of things about "Artificial Intelligence", most of which I have not read. But a couple of the pieces I read are actually good and provoke thought. Here they are:

1. Paul Ford writes about some of the real effects AI has had on his life as a dude who codes but isn't a full-time coder:

November was, for me and many others in tech, a great surprise. Before, A.I. coding tools were often useful, but halting and clumsy. Now, the bot can run for a full hour and make whole, designed websites and apps that may be flawed, but credible. I spent an entire session of therapy talking about it.

The tech industry is a global culture — an identity based on craft and skill. Software development has been a solid middle-class job for a long time. But that may be slipping away. What might the future look like if 100 million, or a billion, people can make any software they desire? Could this be a moment of unparalleled growth and opportunity as people gain access to tech industry power for themselves?

Ford's answer, as you might expect, is not a simple yes or no.

2. Colson Whitehead writes about some of the real effects AI has had on his life as a world-renowned novelist:

As someone in the word business, I’m often asked to weigh in on the question of literature and artificial intelligence. People are usually surprised when I admit that I love A.I.

I use A.I. for everything, 24/7. I can’t get enough, me and my whole family.

My uncle uses A.I. to buy onions. It used to be you wanted onions, you went to the store and maybe it was full of people, or it was empty — you literally never knew. Now A.I. can calculate when the grocery store is low-traffic, and my uncle just strolls in, la-di-da, and buys onions, no waiting.

Imagine a world where you don’t have to wait to buy onions. It’s here.

But it's not all positive!

Item 2: a list

Original iPhone Apps, Ranked:

1. Safari
2. iPod
3. Mail
4. Maps
5. Weather
6. Calendar
7. YouTube
8. Settings
9. Phone
10. Clock
11. Text
12. Photos
13. Camera
14. Notes
15. Calculator
16. Stocks

Item 3: a media recommendation

Item 4: word of the week

Benthic

I donned rubber gloves up to my armpits, and a snorkel. I plunged as far as I could into the benthic abyss of the toilet, and there it was: my tamagotchi.

Item 5: an image

See ya!

Thanks for reading. Keep your eyes peeled for more helpful and handsome design elements in newsletters to come. See you again soon.