I think the iPhone Duo might serve me well in the Post-Programming Era. Now that 90% of my work is remotely coordinating Codex and Claude from my phone, I need a desktop-class browser more than I need a full-size laptop. Carrying your computer just interrupts the agents, anyway.
The summer heat has finally broken here in Shizuoka, and I'm enjoying a cool, wet, and cloudy day huddled around my microphone for warmth. I hope you'll join around my verbal campfire for yet another one of these.
As always, you can e-mail the show at podcast@searls.co. Only a small proportion of listeners will ever write an e-mail, so I now offer a second option: the justin.searls.co/feedback form. People love filling out forms! Go try it out! Check the anonymous checkbox! Hell, enter a fake e-mail address—see if I care!
Stuff we talked about, in order of me talking about them:
Introducing OuijaRouter
Finally figured out a bulletproof system for landing on the best model for the job.
Engrish is so back
[Translator's note: buffet dining is often referred to as バイキング ("Viking") in Japan. Here's why.]
Over the past 15 years, Japan had gradually improved the accuracy and quality of English language signs and guidance. This is despite a precipitous drop in domestic English language proficiency. Rather, Engrish began to disappear from all but the most far flung corners of the country thanks to the proliferation of fully remote, easy-to-contract human translation services.
However, thanks to the mainstreaming of LLM chatbots and the weakening of the yen, businesses have opted to save time and money by asking Gemini and ChatGPT ("Chappie") to translate sentences and images out of context. As a result, I'm pleased to share that Engrish is making a full-throated comeback. The above sign wasn't found in some rural Buddhist lodge that had never seen a foreign tourist, but rather a luxury resort hotel built within the last five years in the heart of Tokyo!
Of course, this is probably a limited-time offer. Eventually smarter models will probably spoil the fun by gathering the necessary context to produce accurate translations—so enjoy it while it lasts!
Many of you sent feedback about your experiences with agents at work—but it was all too positive! I want to hear about some goddamn disasters of team & organizational dysfunction, too! Send in your (anonymous) horror stories, please! justin.searls.co/feedback
Do you work on a team or at a company where most people are actually using agents in earnest? I'd love to hear your experience for a piece. Quick e-mail, call, whatever. Hit me up with my fancy new feedback form: justin.searls.co/feedback
"You can't afford bad engineers anymore." blog.florianherrengt.com/ai-removing-middle-class-software-engineering.html