“you can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf”
Much of what I think and build lives in the space of Tools for Thought and Intelligence Augmentation (IA). Not AI we outsource our thinking to, but tools that expand what we can do and leave us more capable for having used them (e.g. what if using Microsoft Word made you a better writer?).
A few principles that anchor my work: Alan Kay’s idea that the purpose of any medium or technology is to hold new ideas in new ways long enough for us to internalize them; Engelbart’s reminder that if all we cared about was ease of use, we’d still be riding tricycles; and Andy Matuschak and Michael Nielsen’s principle that transformative tools for thought emerge as a byproduct of doing serious work on original problems.
Another thread that runs through my work is Malleable Software: molding software to people’s needs and workflows, rather than the other way around. Tools that treat people as authors, creators, and active shapers of software instead of passive consumers of it. Tools that get people hooked on creating instead of consuming. Tools that amplify human agency, not ones that exploit its limits.
Read my full manifesto.
Computer-using agents are far more powerful than chat assistants. They can run software, build apps, and publish what they make. Built Cortex at IdeaFlow to bring that power outside of terminals and make it accessible to anyone through iMessage. Each person gets a personal cloud computer with an agent running in it, within 30s of sending a text, no app install, no sign up. You can also bring agents to iMessage group chats and turn them into collaborative build spaces.
What if our tools enforced constraints on our behalf instead sucking us into engagement loops? A chess game with no infinite pool of opponents, no ladder, no streaks pulling you back tomorrow. A game happens when two friends sit down and a voice chat option to catch up. The scarcity of opponents is the feature. The constraint is the product. Live at twochairs.club.
Ever shared your Spotify at a party and watched someone play a song instead of queuing it? Guests here can only search and queue — nobody can skip, pause, or hijack the playlist, and no one needs a Spotify account, AirPlay, or even WiFi. Every pick has to pass the vibe check.
What if instead of controlling your bots on slack, slack itself becomes the substrate for agentic work? Here every channel is a project and every message starts an agent session in that project. A router agent triages incoming messages to the right project/session so you don't have to find the exact thread. Slack is purpose built for keep track of different threads in an organization and lends itself really well for managing agentic sessions and for agents to coordinate across projects.
What if project management started with your notes instead of a form? Clarify.pm turns rough thoughts into tasks, decisions, and insights, suggests where they belong, and keeps each item connected to the original note. Uncertain interpretations come back to you for review.
Native iOS voice dictation that runs fully on device with a new interaction pattern to revise. Dictate to transcribe, then speak again to revise what you said: "make it friendlier", "cut the last part". Revision instructions as another voice input let us customize in ways not limited by a set menu of preset prompts.
A stigmergy-inspired loop that takes a rough goal document and builds working software. Each iteration, agents assess the codebase, vote on priorities, update a living plan, and write tested, reviewed code. The plan grows from agents reading real code rather than a human guessing tasks upfront.
Bio-inspired maintenance for Claude Code. The agent goes through cycles modeled after sleep. Consolidating memory, pruning stale instructions and proposing new skills, rules to improve agentic development.
A cozy pixel flirting adventure — wander a tiny town, talk to the townsfolk, win hearts.
Atomic notes densely linked, written and organized to evolve and accumulate over time.