Interconnected, a blog by Matt Webb by

The human uses voice and the computer uses screens. I mean, it’s rare that my phone is beyond peripersonal space so we can assume it is only rarely not present. A screen is way higher in terms of information bandwidth than listening. Let’s use it!

Super cool idea. We are always on our phones with us. We can use both - the screen and voice. The software needs to be smart though, to understand intent.

It makes sense why Jony and OpenAI are building their device.

Proud Uncle Alert - Sabrina Feld by Brad Feld

This matches what I see building with Claude Code every day. The quality of the output tracks directly with the specificity of the input. “Make this look better” gives you something generic. “I want warm tones, editorial layout, and a buttercup accent color for hover states” gives you something that looks like a real design decision was made. Sabrina’s version of this was arriving at each session with strong opinions about what she wanted – gathered design references, prepared content, and a clear vision for the aesthetic.

Matches with how I used CC to build my own website - clear directions.

Microsoft’s Copilot Tasks AI uses its own computer to get things done by Emma Roth

Microsoft is previewing a new AI-powered “Copilot Tasks” designed to take care of busywork for you in the background, the company announced on Thursday. The feature takes the load off your device using its own cloud-based computer, allowing it to work across a browser and apps to handle a variety of jobs ranging from scheduling appointments to generating study plans.

Microsoft seems to build a worse version of the product leaders have built and launched. That should not be a surprise though. It’s their playbook. Given the size of the company and slow moving enterprises, they will have a comfy second place everywhere. I guess that’s a good place to be.

Anthropic refuses Pentagon’s new terms, standing firm on lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance by Hayden Field

Amodei wrote in his statement that the Pentagon’s “threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.” He also wrote that “should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions. Our models will be available on the expansive terms we have proposed for as long as required.”

Unexpected.

Phantom Obligation by https://indieweb.social/@tg

Email's unread count means something specific: these are messages from real people who wrote to you and are, in some cases, actively waiting for your response. The number isn't neutral information. It's a measure of social debt.

But when we applied that same visual language to RSS (the unread counts, the bold text for new items, the sense of a backlog accumulating) we imported the anxiety without the cause.

I have wondered about this myself. My current practice involves reading what I want to read and then marking everything else as read with prejudice. It’s not ideal. There is this feeling of guilt I have, of a task that needs to be done, quite like email.

There should be a different design, a different paradigm. Maybe I should write my thoughts in a place.