Steve Farrugia
@fasterandworse.com
Experienced user
Australian In Amsterdam
I talk about product design and I'm quite critical
open to work, open to talks
Words: https://fasterandworse.com
Videos: https://youtube.com/@fasterandworse
Audios: https://pnc.st/s/faster-and-worse
Australian In Amsterdam
I talk about product design and I'm quite critical
open to work, open to talks
Words: https://fasterandworse.com
Videos: https://youtube.com/@fasterandworse
Audios: https://pnc.st/s/faster-and-worse
Pinned
Steve Farrugia
@fasterandworse.com
· Sep 24
Dispatch #31: Anti-Design
YouTube video by Faster and Worse
www.youtube.com
Dispatch #31: Anti-Design
Design to compensate for a lack of design
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3eL...
Audio: pnc.st/s/faster-and...
1/x
Design to compensate for a lack of design
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3eL...
Audio: pnc.st/s/faster-and...
1/x
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
imagine lecturing the creator of Florb. imagine sending a bad faith response to the creator of Scrotetto
Wow 80% bad-faith responses, and people lecturing the creator of Flask here and the creator of Django/datasette in the comments on why AI is useless for software engineering...
Is this platform still massively against AI or has it moved more towards acceptance?
November 26, 2025 at 12:48 PM
imagine lecturing the creator of Florb. imagine sending a bad faith response to the creator of Scrotetto
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
It's so interesting that the AI boosters have popped up asking if Bluesky is ready to accept the good word of prophet Sam Altman yet, at the EXACT time that the timeline is lit up with the "OpenAI says they can't be blamed for driving a teen to suicide because the TOS says you can't kill yourself"
November 26, 2025 at 1:49 PM
It's so interesting that the AI boosters have popped up asking if Bluesky is ready to accept the good word of prophet Sam Altman yet, at the EXACT time that the timeline is lit up with the "OpenAI says they can't be blamed for driving a teen to suicide because the TOS says you can't kill yourself"
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
If a product caused harm, or death, to a single person who was using it correctly, the person responsible for that product should be in a state of distress for what they did.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Nothing is more revealing of the character of Mark Zuckerberg than this
November 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
If a product caused harm, or death, to a single person who was using it correctly, the person responsible for that product should be in a state of distress for what they did.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
the fact that these people can sleep at night is not strength, it's psychopathy
If a product caused harm, or death, to a single person who was using it correctly, the person responsible for that product should be in a state of distress for what they did.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Nothing is more revealing of the character of Mark Zuckerberg than this
November 23, 2025 at 7:38 PM
the fact that these people can sleep at night is not strength, it's psychopathy
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
Got a shoutout for my free newsletter from the UX Consultants Lounge! This is the article in question.
Even if you're not a designer, but want to know why the UX in all the products you use is bad (hint: it's not (just) because everyone is stupid) then have a read and maybe even subscribe.
Even if you're not a designer, but want to know why the UX in all the products you use is bad (hint: it's not (just) because everyone is stupid) then have a read and maybe even subscribe.
November 25, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Got a shoutout for my free newsletter from the UX Consultants Lounge! This is the article in question.
Even if you're not a designer, but want to know why the UX in all the products you use is bad (hint: it's not (just) because everyone is stupid) then have a read and maybe even subscribe.
Even if you're not a designer, but want to know why the UX in all the products you use is bad (hint: it's not (just) because everyone is stupid) then have a read and maybe even subscribe.
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
Don’t cite the Adversarial Poetry vs AI paper — it’s chatbot-made ‘science’
Not even poetically sound
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnID... - video
pivottoai.libsyn.com/20251124-don... - podcast
time: 5 min 46 sec
Not even poetically sound
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnID... - video
pivottoai.libsyn.com/20251124-don... - podcast
time: 5 min 46 sec
November 24, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
Today in luxury surveillance.
There are many more bad tech products to avoid. But I keep coming back to @hypervisible.blacksky.app and David Golumbia’s concept of luxury surveillance.
We need to really think about the surveillance tech we’re adopting — and certainly that we’re pushing on others.
disconnect.blog/a-tech-criti...
We need to really think about the surveillance tech we’re adopting — and certainly that we’re pushing on others.
disconnect.blog/a-tech-criti...
November 25, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Today in luxury surveillance.
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
but yeah, in the cut and thrust of online intellectual debate, "I bet YOU'VE never had this happen to YOU" is not a phrase you drop unless you're already *certain* of the answer
November 25, 2025 at 9:45 AM
but yeah, in the cut and thrust of online intellectual debate, "I bet YOU'VE never had this happen to YOU" is not a phrase you drop unless you're already *certain* of the answer
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
Had a good chat with @jasonkoebler.bsky.social for the @404media.co podcast. Got a chance to talk about how tech companies main pitch changed from “you exchange some surveillance for services” to “we get to spy on you all the time and it’s good, actually.”
Luxury Surveillance (With Chris Gilliard)
Podcast Episode · The 404 Media Podcast · 11/24/2025 · 1h 3m
podcasts.apple.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Had a good chat with @jasonkoebler.bsky.social for the @404media.co podcast. Got a chance to talk about how tech companies main pitch changed from “you exchange some surveillance for services” to “we get to spy on you all the time and it’s good, actually.”
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
We are told: the product now has Gemini. We added Rufus. You can talk to Bixby. We've integrated Alice. Chat with Poob. Log on to Poob right now. Poob has it for you. Poob has it for you. Poob has it for you.
⸻
We are never told "so what." Even the teams working on these products don't know anymore.
⸻
We are never told "so what." Even the teams working on these products don't know anymore.
When teams don't understand their own product
A usable product starts with the conceptual model, but designers have "optimized" that work out of the profession. It's time to bring it back.
productpicnic.beehiiv.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:00 PM
We are told: the product now has Gemini. We added Rufus. You can talk to Bixby. We've integrated Alice. Chat with Poob. Log on to Poob right now. Poob has it for you. Poob has it for you. Poob has it for you.
⸻
We are never told "so what." Even the teams working on these products don't know anymore.
⸻
We are never told "so what." Even the teams working on these products don't know anymore.
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
This is also why the platform companies, despite very obviously being publishers, are so desperate to avoid being labeled as publishers. It's all about evading accountability for things any normal company would be burned to the ground for.
November 23, 2025 at 10:22 PM
This is also why the platform companies, despite very obviously being publishers, are so desperate to avoid being labeled as publishers. It's all about evading accountability for things any normal company would be burned to the ground for.
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
Also goes back to @fasterandworse.com's point about how the more products make explicit claims about what they are for, the more they are accountable for doing that thing well. The ambiguity around what AI is supposed to be & do is a deliberate attempt to evade that accountability.
November 23, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Also goes back to @fasterandworse.com's point about how the more products make explicit claims about what they are for, the more they are accountable for doing that thing well. The ambiguity around what AI is supposed to be & do is a deliberate attempt to evade that accountability.
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
That code runs is no guarantee it is any good
LLM-generated code runs or it doesn't—what truth do you need?
November 23, 2025 at 7:32 PM
That code runs is no guarantee it is any good
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
I've seen a particular drop in quality of the code produced by my coworkers leaning on LLMs.
Code running is absolutely not the benchmark for code quality. Being able to read and understand the code so that you can fix problems when they arise is.
Any jackass can trial and error into running code.
Code running is absolutely not the benchmark for code quality. Being able to read and understand the code so that you can fix problems when they arise is.
Any jackass can trial and error into running code.
November 23, 2025 at 8:07 PM
I've seen a particular drop in quality of the code produced by my coworkers leaning on LLMs.
Code running is absolutely not the benchmark for code quality. Being able to read and understand the code so that you can fix problems when they arise is.
Any jackass can trial and error into running code.
Code running is absolutely not the benchmark for code quality. Being able to read and understand the code so that you can fix problems when they arise is.
Any jackass can trial and error into running code.
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
the fact that these people can sleep at night is not strength, it's psychopathy
If a product caused harm, or death, to a single person who was using it correctly, the person responsible for that product should be in a state of distress for what they did.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Nothing is more revealing of the character of Mark Zuckerberg than this
November 23, 2025 at 7:38 PM
the fact that these people can sleep at night is not strength, it's psychopathy
If a product caused harm, or death, to a single person who was using it correctly, the person responsible for that product should be in a state of distress for what they did.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Nothing is more revealing of the character of Mark Zuckerberg than this
November 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
If a product caused harm, or death, to a single person who was using it correctly, the person responsible for that product should be in a state of distress for what they did.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Doesn't matter about the scale of the product.
If they didn't say how to use it correctly, they are no less liable.
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
Regret to report that there has been another good linkedin post
November 22, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Regret to report that there has been another good linkedin post
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
Another suggestion to put down the screen and pick up a book.
The number of pages you read per day, most days a week, is roughly equivalent to how many books you'll read in a year.
The number of pages you read per day, most days a week, is roughly equivalent to how many books you'll read in a year.
November 22, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Another suggestion to put down the screen and pick up a book.
The number of pages you read per day, most days a week, is roughly equivalent to how many books you'll read in a year.
The number of pages you read per day, most days a week, is roughly equivalent to how many books you'll read in a year.
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
The AI Worked Fine until Our Society Fell Off
November 21, 2025 at 5:47 PM
The AI Worked Fine until Our Society Fell Off
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
Got out some thoughts about Sora, gen AI nostalgia videos, and how the idea that this kind of content is the future of entertainment is an insult to people's intelligence
Who is AI nostalgia slop even for?
Who is AI nostalgia slop even for?
Video generators like Sora rely on a monoculture that no longer exists.
buff.ly
November 21, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Got out some thoughts about Sora, gen AI nostalgia videos, and how the idea that this kind of content is the future of entertainment is an insult to people's intelligence
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
We need to take these people’s toys away until they understand how they work.
November 21, 2025 at 4:50 PM
We need to take these people’s toys away until they understand how they work.
oh look, bsky is screenshots of tweets today
November 20, 2025 at 9:10 PM
oh look, bsky is screenshots of tweets today
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
The weird ways this will immediately go off the rails…
OpenAI is launching group chats in ChatGPT
ChatGPT enters the chat.
www.theverge.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
The weird ways this will immediately go off the rails…
Reposted by Steve Farrugia
I wrote a thing a while back, which is probably a bit cringe in hindsight, about this. fasterandworse.com/everything-i...
Everything is Beautiful All of the Time.
Unconventional compositions and the importance of intent.
fasterandworse.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I wrote a thing a while back, which is probably a bit cringe in hindsight, about this. fasterandworse.com/everything-i...