I talk with David Demaree, a software product leader and the person behind the consultancy/agency Bits and Letters, whom I know through the Shop Talk Show Discord. We end up discussing AI despite trying not to, focusing on how two things can be true: AI can be useful while also feeling gross or harmful. We also discuss how AI gets shoved into tools for metrics, why good design should be opinionated, and why company benchmarks can be misleading compared to real-world “vibe checks” and user feedback.

Note: I said "Friday October 16th" in the recording, but this is for Saturday, October 17th. Stupid templates not knowing I'm recording ahead.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• David Demaree
• ShopTalk Show
• ShopTalk Show Discord — join via Patreon
• The Local Yarn Store
• Muse Wonder — Meta’s official announcement
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Claire Vo
• Simon Willison
• Every — Vibe Check
• Long Way Up — Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman
• Long Way Home — Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman
• Rivian
• Bits&Letters — David Demaree’s business

Topics:
00:00 Welcome and Setup
00:31 Meet David Demaree
02:30 Two Truths About AI
04:09 Cloud vs Local AI
06:35 EVs and Future Tech
09:35 A Practical AI Win
12:21 AI as Default Tooling
13:09 Bad UX and AI Sidebars
17:18 Benchmarks vs Reality
20:46 Jokes and Wrap Up
21:50 Where to Find David
22:18 Final Sign Off

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