Ben Tsai
@bentsai.org
bentsai.org
product-minded engineer that advocates for human-centered design
@ Cisco Secure
@ Carnegie Mellon University MHCI
product-minded engineer that advocates for human-centered design
@ Cisco Secure
@ Carnegie Mellon University MHCI
“FOMO: missing out on art, beauty, and truth”
- a talk I would like to develop and give
- a talk I would like to develop and give
November 6, 2025 at 6:16 PM
“FOMO: missing out on art, beauty, and truth”
- a talk I would like to develop and give
- a talk I would like to develop and give
> It's just a tool
Tools have affordances. A chair affords sitting on it. Buttons afford pushing. To put it crassly, guns afford pulling the trigger with the barrel pointed away from you.
Tools have affordances. A chair affords sitting on it. Buttons afford pushing. To put it crassly, guns afford pulling the trigger with the barrel pointed away from you.
November 6, 2025 at 3:47 PM
> It's just a tool
Tools have affordances. A chair affords sitting on it. Buttons afford pushing. To put it crassly, guns afford pulling the trigger with the barrel pointed away from you.
Tools have affordances. A chair affords sitting on it. Buttons afford pushing. To put it crassly, guns afford pulling the trigger with the barrel pointed away from you.
Reposted by Ben Tsai
"AI race" is a thought-terminating cliché. Race to what? Race to do all the R&D for someone else? Race to kill the most people? Race to break the last functional app? Race to set the most stuff on fire, including money?
The grind culture that birthed many Big Tech companies from Google to Amazon is back.
As the AI race heats up, startups are promoting hardcore cultures like “996,” or working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.
As the AI race heats up, startups are promoting hardcore cultures like “996,” or working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.
Why these companies insist on a 72-hour work week
Start-ups are promoting hardcore cultures such as “996,” meaning working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week, as they race to compete in AI.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:47 PM
"AI race" is a thought-terminating cliché. Race to what? Race to do all the R&D for someone else? Race to kill the most people? Race to break the last functional app? Race to set the most stuff on fire, including money?
Reposted by Ben Tsai
It’s tiresome at this point, but again, their entire pitch is “wouldn’t it be great if there were no such things as talent, craft, and skill,” and what that means is a bland, slop-filled world. www.businessinsider.com/marc-andrees...
October 17, 2025 at 8:20 PM
It’s tiresome at this point, but again, their entire pitch is “wouldn’t it be great if there were no such things as talent, craft, and skill,” and what that means is a bland, slop-filled world. www.businessinsider.com/marc-andrees...
Reposted by Ben Tsai
I highly recommend both Bike and Taskpaper - the sense of deliberateness in the design decisions in both apps is just 🤌
There is something about how the native feeling of Mac-assed apps just doesn't compare to anything else. In gaming, it's called "game feel". Both Jesse's apps have it.
There is something about how the native feeling of Mac-assed apps just doesn't compare to anything else. In gaming, it's called "game feel". Both Jesse's apps have it.
December 6, 2024 at 11:03 AM
I highly recommend both Bike and Taskpaper - the sense of deliberateness in the design decisions in both apps is just 🤌
There is something about how the native feeling of Mac-assed apps just doesn't compare to anything else. In gaming, it's called "game feel". Both Jesse's apps have it.
There is something about how the native feeling of Mac-assed apps just doesn't compare to anything else. In gaming, it's called "game feel". Both Jesse's apps have it.
Reposted by Ben Tsai
I wrote about AI and programming.
About the identity challenges we are facing as programmers and the potential erasure of craft.
There's a fun little easter egg in the header as well :)
hojberg.xyz/the-programm...
About the identity challenges we are facing as programmers and the potential erasure of craft.
There's a fun little easter egg in the header as well :)
hojberg.xyz/the-programm...
The Programmer Identity Crisis ❈ Simon Højberg ❈ Principal Frontend Engineer
On AI, Creativity, and Craft
hojberg.xyz
October 7, 2025 at 11:42 PM
I wrote about AI and programming.
About the identity challenges we are facing as programmers and the potential erasure of craft.
There's a fun little easter egg in the header as well :)
hojberg.xyz/the-programm...
About the identity challenges we are facing as programmers and the potential erasure of craft.
There's a fun little easter egg in the header as well :)
hojberg.xyz/the-programm...
I wrote about my plain-text-based note and task system, featuring TaskPaper
bentsai.org/posts/text-i...
bentsai.org/posts/text-i...
Text Is Best - Ben Tsai
I wasn’t intending to rework my tasks and notes system. It just happened to me. At the end of the day, I’ve ended up with a lightweight process that is one...
bentsai.org
October 10, 2025 at 5:25 PM
I wrote about my plain-text-based note and task system, featuring TaskPaper
bentsai.org/posts/text-i...
bentsai.org/posts/text-i...
This project looks so cool internet-janitor.itch.io/decker
Decker by Internet Janitor
A multimedia sketchbook
internet-janitor.itch.io
October 4, 2025 at 2:13 AM
This project looks so cool internet-janitor.itch.io/decker
It should be called COUNTERFEIT INTELLIGENCE
September 26, 2025 at 8:09 PM
It should be called COUNTERFEIT INTELLIGENCE
Reposted by Ben Tsai
Mic drop from @abeba.bsky.social at UNESCO Digital Learning Week
September 2, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Mic drop from @abeba.bsky.social at UNESCO Digital Learning Week
Reposted by Ben Tsai
My drawn statement on Ai as standalone from my now finished minicomic as syllabus for new liberal studies class! As promised this is shareable, printable - all from my site, feel free to make use of it, cite me & let me know how it’s received. Share away all here! spinweaveandcut.com/fall-2025-sy...
August 20, 2025 at 4:48 PM
My drawn statement on Ai as standalone from my now finished minicomic as syllabus for new liberal studies class! As promised this is shareable, printable - all from my site, feel free to make use of it, cite me & let me know how it’s received. Share away all here! spinweaveandcut.com/fall-2025-sy...
LLMs perverts the concept of an author and destroys the link between the author and the message.
August 29, 2025 at 1:13 PM
LLMs perverts the concept of an author and destroys the link between the author and the message.
Coding with ai has similar vibes as gambling and superstitions. Also gives devs a sense of power and control that you don't get from mentoring humans.
August 13, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Coding with ai has similar vibes as gambling and superstitions. Also gives devs a sense of power and control that you don't get from mentoring humans.
Reposted by Ben Tsai
A very cool example of what's possible with the Kinopio public API:
morgan's (ampersand.pm) Kinopio Glue app collects all their todo cards with tags across all the spaces in a specific group and creates a website running on a mac mini hooked up to tailscale
morgan's (ampersand.pm) Kinopio Glue app collects all their todo cards with tags across all the spaces in a specific group and creates a website running on a mac mini hooked up to tailscale
August 13, 2025 at 3:14 PM
A very cool example of what's possible with the Kinopio public API:
morgan's (ampersand.pm) Kinopio Glue app collects all their todo cards with tags across all the spaces in a specific group and creates a website running on a mac mini hooked up to tailscale
morgan's (ampersand.pm) Kinopio Glue app collects all their todo cards with tags across all the spaces in a specific group and creates a website running on a mac mini hooked up to tailscale
Reposted by Ben Tsai
"You can't trust your own instincts or judgement about LLMs and chatbots because they trigger a number of cognitive biases and psychological "effects" that short-circuit our judgement."
Every word of this post is so good
https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2025/trusting-your-own-judgement-on-ai/
Every word of this post is so good
https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2025/trusting-your-own-judgement-on-ai/
Trusting your own judgement on ‘AI’ is a huge risk
www.baldurbjarnason.com
June 12, 2025 at 12:01 AM
"You can't trust your own instincts or judgement about LLMs and chatbots because they trigger a number of cognitive biases and psychological "effects" that short-circuit our judgement."
Every word of this post is so good
https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2025/trusting-your-own-judgement-on-ai/
Every word of this post is so good
https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2025/trusting-your-own-judgement-on-ai/
Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who uses ai?
April 28, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who uses ai?
Reposted by Ben Tsai
Microsoft's own research confirms something that was already pretty obvious: relying on a text generating machine to come up with answers erodes critical thinking, and is a method favoured by those who never liked doing critical thinking in the first place
advait.org/files/lee_20...
advait.org/files/lee_20...
advait.org
February 9, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Microsoft's own research confirms something that was already pretty obvious: relying on a text generating machine to come up with answers erodes critical thinking, and is a method favoured by those who never liked doing critical thinking in the first place
advait.org/files/lee_20...
advait.org/files/lee_20...
@davidthewid.bsky.social great talk today! It’s refreshing to hear someone speak critically about AI and gives me hope that there are better ways to deal with its immense harms
January 31, 2025 at 10:51 PM
@davidthewid.bsky.social great talk today! It’s refreshing to hear someone speak critically about AI and gives me hope that there are better ways to deal with its immense harms
Reposted by Ben Tsai
- Not just making it look good but figuring out how it works
- two halves of design: making the right thing and making the thing right
- Making the right thing is about connecting the product to user needs, goals, expectations
- making the thing right is about making sure it’s usable for everyone
- two halves of design: making the right thing and making the thing right
- Making the right thing is about connecting the product to user needs, goals, expectations
- making the thing right is about making sure it’s usable for everyone
January 31, 2025 at 2:30 PM
- Not just making it look good but figuring out how it works
- two halves of design: making the right thing and making the thing right
- Making the right thing is about connecting the product to user needs, goals, expectations
- making the thing right is about making sure it’s usable for everyone
- two halves of design: making the right thing and making the thing right
- Making the right thing is about connecting the product to user needs, goals, expectations
- making the thing right is about making sure it’s usable for everyone
@odannyboy.bsky.social I’m giving a talk next month to CMU MSE students who are working on their year-long capstone projects. The title is “What every software engineer needs to know about UX”.
What items come to your mind for that? :)
What items come to your mind for that? :)
January 31, 2025 at 2:24 PM
@odannyboy.bsky.social I’m giving a talk next month to CMU MSE students who are working on their year-long capstone projects. The title is “What every software engineer needs to know about UX”.
What items come to your mind for that? :)
What items come to your mind for that? :)
Two years ago, I wrote a paper examining the concept of power in Apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, using it as a lens to understand how power is used by Christian nationalism.
It helps me to revisit it to make sense of what's happening in the world.
bentsai.org/pages/the-po...
It helps me to revisit it to make sense of what's happening in the world.
bentsai.org/pages/the-po...
The Power of the Cross Versus the Power of Christian Nationalism - Ben Tsai
I took a course with Dr. Michael J. Gorman on First Corinthians in the fall of 2022. This is my final paper, which explored the concept of power in Paul’s...
bentsai.org
January 21, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Two years ago, I wrote a paper examining the concept of power in Apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, using it as a lens to understand how power is used by Christian nationalism.
It helps me to revisit it to make sense of what's happening in the world.
bentsai.org/pages/the-po...
It helps me to revisit it to make sense of what's happening in the world.
bentsai.org/pages/the-po...