Philipp
@phildav.bsky.social
Designing, researching and prototyping emerging HCI + ML tech @Microsoft • 🇪🇺 Berlin • https://philipp.design
Great HCI still happens but it’s usually tugged away in (the few industrial, and academic) research labs. For reasons mentioned below, they have a crazy tough time to get their foot in the door with product orgs. Even if the ”novel” thing was already well explored in academia.
In Apple’s case, I think two things probably happened.
First, HCI was killed by behavioral economics (see below), and nobody remembers how to do it.
Second, they put a supply-chain guy in charge who can’t even see design, so there is no incentive anyway.
First, HCI was killed by behavioral economics (see below), and nobody remembers how to do it.
Second, they put a supply-chain guy in charge who can’t even see design, so there is no incentive anyway.
HCI (Human Computer Interaction), first foreshadowed by Ted Nelson as "fantics" and then formalized by Apple is effectively dead as a field of human-factors engineering.
Now HCI is just behavioral economics, with computers.
Now HCI is just behavioral economics, with computers.
November 30, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Great HCI still happens but it’s usually tugged away in (the few industrial, and academic) research labs. For reasons mentioned below, they have a crazy tough time to get their foot in the door with product orgs. Even if the ”novel” thing was already well explored in academia.
Reposted by Philipp
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
November 19, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
Reposted by Philipp
Die Kürzung der Ticketsteuer fürs Fliegen führt zu Mindereinnahmen von 350.000.000 Euro im Bundeshaushalt.
Das ist genau der Betrag, um den die Bundesförderung für das Deutschlandticket gekürzt worden ist.
Prioritäten. So wichtig.
Das ist genau der Betrag, um den die Bundesförderung für das Deutschlandticket gekürzt worden ist.
Prioritäten. So wichtig.
November 13, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Die Kürzung der Ticketsteuer fürs Fliegen führt zu Mindereinnahmen von 350.000.000 Euro im Bundeshaushalt.
Das ist genau der Betrag, um den die Bundesförderung für das Deutschlandticket gekürzt worden ist.
Prioritäten. So wichtig.
Das ist genau der Betrag, um den die Bundesförderung für das Deutschlandticket gekürzt worden ist.
Prioritäten. So wichtig.
Reposted by Philipp
you can't make a technical contribution in HCI by just connecting an LLM to something. we need to know how it works, beyond a user study with a few people. what are the ways that it fails? how fundamental are these problems, what does it reveal about the potential of this kind of use, etc.
October 24, 2025 at 2:21 AM
you can't make a technical contribution in HCI by just connecting an LLM to something. we need to know how it works, beyond a user study with a few people. what are the ways that it fails? how fundamental are these problems, what does it reveal about the potential of this kind of use, etc.
Reposted by Philipp
"Der Publizist Michel Friedman warnt davor, dass Deutschland in zehn Jahren keine Demokratie mehr sein könnte. »Ich bin erstaunt, wie viele Menschen ihr Leben normal weiterleben (...)".
www.spiegel.de/panorama/leu...
www.spiegel.de/panorama/leu...
Michel Friedman über Demokratie: »Der Zeitstrahl ist kurz, es wird verdammt ernst«
Michel Friedman befürchtet, dass Deutschland in zehn Jahren keine Demokratie mehr sein könnte. Der Publizist meint, die Reaktion der Deutschen auf die derzeitige Entwicklung müsse anders ausfallen.
www.spiegel.de
September 27, 2025 at 10:58 PM
"Der Publizist Michel Friedman warnt davor, dass Deutschland in zehn Jahren keine Demokratie mehr sein könnte. »Ich bin erstaunt, wie viele Menschen ihr Leben normal weiterleben (...)".
www.spiegel.de/panorama/leu...
www.spiegel.de/panorama/leu...
Reposted by Philipp
Because of the rise of pundits and influencers and the relative extinction of professional critics and public-facing experts, we have utterly lost the distinction between matters of opinion and matters of fact. (Yeah it's not a total dichotomy)
September 13, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Because of the rise of pundits and influencers and the relative extinction of professional critics and public-facing experts, we have utterly lost the distinction between matters of opinion and matters of fact. (Yeah it's not a total dichotomy)
Karpathy: "English is the hottest new programming language" Meanwhile me: "What xml structure should I use to get better llm eval results?"
September 5, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Karpathy: "English is the hottest new programming language" Meanwhile me: "What xml structure should I use to get better llm eval results?"
Reposted by Philipp
Good write up by Nick Heer at @pxlnv.bsky.social:
> We should also not lose sight of the increasing hostility of the U.S. government making these moves to reassert its dominance in [tech]. We can stop getting steamrolled if we want to, but we *really* need to want to.
pxlnv.com/blog/us-incr...
> We should also not lose sight of the increasing hostility of the U.S. government making these moves to reassert its dominance in [tech]. We can stop getting steamrolled if we want to, but we *really* need to want to.
pxlnv.com/blog/us-incr...
The U.S.’ Increasing State Involvement in the Tech Industry
The United States government has long had an interest in boosting its high technology sector, with manifold objectives: for soft power, espionage, and financial dominance, at least. It has accomplishe...
pxlnv.com
August 26, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Good write up by Nick Heer at @pxlnv.bsky.social:
> We should also not lose sight of the increasing hostility of the U.S. government making these moves to reassert its dominance in [tech]. We can stop getting steamrolled if we want to, but we *really* need to want to.
pxlnv.com/blog/us-incr...
> We should also not lose sight of the increasing hostility of the U.S. government making these moves to reassert its dominance in [tech]. We can stop getting steamrolled if we want to, but we *really* need to want to.
pxlnv.com/blog/us-incr...
Reposted by Philipp
Product managers tell me that you don't need UX when you can just "build measure learn" your way to product market fit.
But if your sense-response mechanism is entirely built around trying new shit, and the new shit fails - what are you going to do? Continuing to tweak it only upsets users more.
But if your sense-response mechanism is entirely built around trying new shit, and the new shit fails - what are you going to do? Continuing to tweak it only upsets users more.
This is grim stuff. ChatGPT users are pissed off at OpenAI, and it's blatantly obvious they don't really know why and neither does OpenAI.
ChatGPT is a dying MMORPG.
ChatGPT is a dying MMORPG.
August 16, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Product managers tell me that you don't need UX when you can just "build measure learn" your way to product market fit.
But if your sense-response mechanism is entirely built around trying new shit, and the new shit fails - what are you going to do? Continuing to tweak it only upsets users more.
But if your sense-response mechanism is entirely built around trying new shit, and the new shit fails - what are you going to do? Continuing to tweak it only upsets users more.
Reposted by Philipp
Every rich person is going to tell *you* how great AI teaching is while sending *their* kids to the kind of schooling the Ancient Greeks would recognize. I just wish everyone would think about why that is.
I think we’re on the cusp of mass attempts to automate teaching, and I also think it is going to be a massive wasteful failure in ways that will make the “learning loss” of the pandemic look like a speed bump next to a mountain.
August 5, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Every rich person is going to tell *you* how great AI teaching is while sending *their* kids to the kind of schooling the Ancient Greeks would recognize. I just wish everyone would think about why that is.
Is anyone using anything else but Arq for (cloud / s3 / glacier) backups on macOS these days?
July 31, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Is anyone using anything else but Arq for (cloud / s3 / glacier) backups on macOS these days?
Reposted by Philipp
Do you write TypeScript? Enjoy Automerge? Love building both tools and community? You might be a great fit for our ✨new✨ Automerge TypeScript Maintainer role!
www.inkandswitch.com/jobs/automer...
(Remote role, 🇬🇧 UK-based preferred but not required)
www.inkandswitch.com/jobs/automer...
(Remote role, 🇬🇧 UK-based preferred but not required)
Automerge TypeScript Maintainer
Industrial research lab working on digital tools for creativity and productivity
www.inkandswitch.com
July 23, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Do you write TypeScript? Enjoy Automerge? Love building both tools and community? You might be a great fit for our ✨new✨ Automerge TypeScript Maintainer role!
www.inkandswitch.com/jobs/automer...
(Remote role, 🇬🇧 UK-based preferred but not required)
www.inkandswitch.com/jobs/automer...
(Remote role, 🇬🇧 UK-based preferred but not required)
Reposted by Philipp
Ich erinnere gerne nochmal an diesen Text von @georgloewisch.bsky.social über Jens #Spahn.
Es steht alles drin.
Es steht alles drin.
CDU: Eine gefährliche Wahl
Jens Spahn rückt die Union nach rechts. Seine Aussagen zur AfD haben System. Nun könnte er Fraktionschef werden. Seine politischen Gegner bleiben still – ein Fehler.
www.zeit.de
July 11, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Ich erinnere gerne nochmal an diesen Text von @georgloewisch.bsky.social über Jens #Spahn.
Es steht alles drin.
Es steht alles drin.
Reposted by Philipp
Die Bude voll mit rechtsradikalen Abgeordneten, die Identitäre und Neonazis als Mitarbeiter beschäftigen - aber die Bundestagspräsidentin macht Jagd auf Fahnen, die gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt, Vielfalt und Offenheit symbolisieren. www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft...
„Jagd auf Regenbogenfahnen“: Bundestagsabgeordnete müssen Flaggen in ihren Büros abhängen – Verwaltung spricht von „Routinevorgang“
Mit Verweis auf die Hausordnung fordert die Bundestagsverwaltung Abgeordnete dazu auf, Regenbogenflaggen aus ihren Büros zu entfernen. Die Betroffenen sind empört.
www.tagesspiegel.de
July 10, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Die Bude voll mit rechtsradikalen Abgeordneten, die Identitäre und Neonazis als Mitarbeiter beschäftigen - aber die Bundestagspräsidentin macht Jagd auf Fahnen, die gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt, Vielfalt und Offenheit symbolisieren. www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft...
Reposted by Philipp
chatbots für therapiezwecke ist nicht nur deswegen gefährlich, weil es einem quatsch rät (das passiert auch), sondern weil eine llm nicht "nein" sagen kann. ich mein, sie kann schon das token "nein" generieren, aber ein wirkliches "nein" muss letztendlich notwendig materiell sein. ein widerstand.
July 1, 2025 at 2:13 PM
chatbots für therapiezwecke ist nicht nur deswegen gefährlich, weil es einem quatsch rät (das passiert auch), sondern weil eine llm nicht "nein" sagen kann. ich mein, sie kann schon das token "nein" generieren, aber ein wirkliches "nein" muss letztendlich notwendig materiell sein. ein widerstand.
Reposted by Philipp
300.000 Tote bisher, die Mehrheit davon Kinder, dank Musks „Kürzungen“, Zahl steigend. Aber „Selbstheilungskräfte“, alles klar. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/o...
June 6, 2025 at 4:54 PM
300.000 Tote bisher, die Mehrheit davon Kinder, dank Musks „Kürzungen“, Zahl steigend. Aber „Selbstheilungskräfte“, alles klar. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/o...
Reposted by Philipp
Figma (Sites) creating inaccessible, non-semantic div soup? I’m not surprised at all. That’s basically the main point of the talk I just gave at #btconf. Figma is for painting beautiful pictures of websites. Not for making websites.
May 10, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Figma (Sites) creating inaccessible, non-semantic div soup? I’m not surprised at all. That’s basically the main point of the talk I just gave at #btconf. Figma is for painting beautiful pictures of websites. Not for making websites.
Reposted by Philipp
Rolf Mützenich und Stegner verteidigen das skandalöse Treffen. „Jeder Kontakt“ zu Russland sei sinnvoll. Das ist m.E. keine Naivität mehr, das ist das alte deutsche koloniale Denken, dass Moskau und Berlin gemeinsam Weltpolitik machen. Gerade jetzt brandgefährlich für die Ukraine und Europa.
1/2
1/2
May 10, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Rolf Mützenich und Stegner verteidigen das skandalöse Treffen. „Jeder Kontakt“ zu Russland sei sinnvoll. Das ist m.E. keine Naivität mehr, das ist das alte deutsche koloniale Denken, dass Moskau und Berlin gemeinsam Weltpolitik machen. Gerade jetzt brandgefährlich für die Ukraine und Europa.
1/2
1/2
Reposted by Philipp
Merz stellt den Koalitionsvertrag vor und spricht von jungen Menschen & ihren Zukunftsängsten - um dann exakt kein Wort zum Klima zu sagen.
Die nächste Legislatur wird die heißeste in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik. Aber das ist offensichtlich noch nicht bei allen angekommen.
Die nächste Legislatur wird die heißeste in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik. Aber das ist offensichtlich noch nicht bei allen angekommen.
April 9, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Merz stellt den Koalitionsvertrag vor und spricht von jungen Menschen & ihren Zukunftsängsten - um dann exakt kein Wort zum Klima zu sagen.
Die nächste Legislatur wird die heißeste in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik. Aber das ist offensichtlich noch nicht bei allen angekommen.
Die nächste Legislatur wird die heißeste in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik. Aber das ist offensichtlich noch nicht bei allen angekommen.
Reposted by Philipp
"Im Hintergrund arbeiten in der Spitzenpolitik gut vernetzte Top-Anwälte daran, die Planspiele des US-Investors Lynch für Nord Stream 2 in die Tat umzusetzen"
Deal um Nord Stream 2: Eine Pipeline führt in die CDU
Der US-amerikanische Investor Stephen P. Lynch will die Gas-Pipeline Nord Stream 2 wiederbeleben. Dafür schickt er gut vernetzte Anwälte ins Rennen.
www.t-online.de
March 22, 2025 at 1:07 PM
"Im Hintergrund arbeiten in der Spitzenpolitik gut vernetzte Top-Anwälte daran, die Planspiele des US-Investors Lynch für Nord Stream 2 in die Tat umzusetzen"
Reposted by Philipp
Does anyone still believe that open source software (or “Free Software”, not making that distinction here) can be a “force for social good” or whatever other nonsense we’ve been saying about it for a decade?
March 17, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Does anyone still believe that open source software (or “Free Software”, not making that distinction here) can be a “force for social good” or whatever other nonsense we’ve been saying about it for a decade?
Reposted by Philipp
If you read one article today, make it this one.
“If the battle over universities were only about budgets, the fight might be different. But what is being targeted is something more profound: the ability of institutions to sustain the freedoms that form the foundation of our democracy.”
Opinion | The View Inside Trump’s Assault on Universities
The Trump administration’s attacks on universities will lead to the permanent diminishment of vital American institutions.
www.nytimes.com
March 16, 2025 at 8:23 AM
If you read one article today, make it this one.
Reposted by Philipp
Kevin Munger on echo chambers, algorithms, research-lag.
worth noting that some people are currently quite busy building the society they want. How do we democratise those levers?
worth noting that some people are currently quite busy building the society they want. How do we democratise those levers?
March 14, 2025 at 6:44 AM
Kevin Munger on echo chambers, algorithms, research-lag.
worth noting that some people are currently quite busy building the society they want. How do we democratise those levers?
worth noting that some people are currently quite busy building the society they want. How do we democratise those levers?