# ai productivity (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 5 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover ai productivity. Page: Feed: --- ## [AI, Productivity, and Rates: Part 2](https://theovershoot.co/p/ai-productivity-and-rates-part-2) _2026-08-18 · Matthew C. Klein · The Overshoot_ If new technologies are actually able to boost productivity growth over a sustained period, the 1990s experience suggests that real interest rates are currently lower than they would (and should) be. ## [I was wrong: there are bad prompts](https://blog.mastykarz.nl/i-was-wrong-there-are-bad-prompts/) _2026-08-10 · Waldek Mastykarz_ For the longest time, I believed there was no such thing as a bad prompt. When you ask AI to do something and get an unexpected result, that result gives you feedback. You may have left an important constraint implicit or used a word such as simple that you and the model interpreted differently. Change the prompt and try again. Learn from what happened. Working with AI forces us to make explicit… ## [Your agents should learn for the organization](https://blog.mastykarz.nl/your-agents-should-learn-for-the-organization/) _2026-08-10 · Waldek Mastykarz_ Your agents learn while doing the work. They discover where the organization's guidance no longer matches reality. But when the conversation ends, most of that learning disappears with it. Agent memory may preserve some of it for you. What about the rest of the organization? For agents to work effectively inside an organization, they need access to its knowledge. They need to know which APIs to… ## [When organizations can build faster than they can agree](https://blog.mastykarz.nl/when-organizations-can-build-faster-than-they-can-agree/) _2026-08-09 · Waldek Mastykarz_ Organizations can now build software faster than they can agree on what to build. AI makes a feature that once took weeks possible in days. A product manager can create a prototype without waiting for an engineer, while a support team can automate a workflow on its own. Working software can emerge from almost anywhere in the organization. That sounds like an unambiguous win, until everyone starts… ## [Every team needs a knowledge interface](https://blog.mastykarz.nl/every-team-needs-knowledge-interface/) _2026-08-08 · Waldek Mastykarz_ For years, organizations invested in intranets, enterprise search, wikis, metadata, taxonomies, knowledge graphs, none of this is new. So why does it suddenly feel urgent again? Because the audience changed. Three eras of organizational knowledge We started organizing knowledge using folders. If you wanted to know how something worked, you needed to know where it lived: Engineering/ APIs/… ## ["Coding is solved" misses the point](https://blog.mastykarz.nl/coding-is-solved-misses-the-point/) _2026-08-08 · Waldek Mastykarz_ Every few weeks, someone declares that coding is solved . If they mean turning a well-specified problem into runnable code, they're increasingly right. But was writing runnable code ever the whole problem? Language models have solved software engineering to the extent that word processors solved journalism: they made producing the output easier. Ask one to build a REST API or implement a React… ## [AI, Productivity, and Rates: Part I](https://theovershoot.co/p/ai-productivity-and-rates-part-i) _2026-08-05 · Matthew C. Klein · The Overshoot_ Even if AI is disinflationary, the cost of capital might need to rise to balance out the higher prospective returns on new investments. But first: is productivity even accelerating? ## [Inference efficiency is about protecting attention](https://blog.mastykarz.nl/inference-efficiency-protecting-attention/) _2026-08-03 · Waldek Mastykarz_ Inference efficiency is about protecting attention. Every unnecessary step an AI agent takes, spends reasoning capacity on the tooling instead of the user's problem. For decades, we've worked to make software easier for people to use. We designed intuitive APIs and polished CLIs. We wrote better documentation and meaningful error messages. Good developer experience reduced friction, so developers… ## [Making room for your thoughts while reading](https://blog.mastykarz.nl/making-room-for-your-thoughts/) _2026-08-02 · Waldek Mastykarz_ I want to try something new with this blog. Most websites treat reading as consumption: you open a page, read it, and close the tab. But reading often starts a line of thinking that continues long after the page is gone. What if the page could support that thinking without getting in the way? I've added marginalia, a place for your thoughts next to mine. Stop when something catches your attention… ## [We're measuring AI productivity the wrong way](https://blog.mastykarz.nl/measuring-ai-productivity-wrong-way/) _2026-07-30 · Waldek Mastykarz_ When we measure AI productivity, we tend to ask one question: how much time did this save me? That's the wrong way to look at it. The one that actually matters is how much time did this save everyone . It sounds like a nuance, but it changes the whole picture. The hidden cost shift For centuries, writing had a built-in quality filter. It was expensive. Writing an email, a report, or a proposal… ## [Pirate.io on Google Play (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/jeflwrZZ3nqo) _2026-07-30 · **Sponsored**_ Open the Pirate.io listing on Google Play to view the app’s details. ## [Every configuration option is a question we couldn't answer](https://blog.mastykarz.nl/every-configuration-option-question-couldnt-answer/) _2026-07-29 · Waldek Mastykarz_ Open your favorite AI coding agent and you're greeted with a surprising number of decisions. Which model should you use? Should reasoning be low, medium, or high? How much context should the agent load? Which MCP servers should be enabled, which skills should it have access to, and should it ask before running commands? Most of us don't know the right answers. We pretend we do, but if we're… ## [The next literacy is externalizing judgment](https://blog.mastykarz.nl/next-literacy-externalizing-judgment/) _2026-07-28 · Waldek Mastykarz_ When ChatGPT took off, everyone wanted to learn prompt engineering. People shared templates and debated personas, XML, markdown, and chain-of-thought. Entire businesses emerged around writing the perfect prompt. We've been optimizing the wrong thing. The biggest productivity gains from LLMs come from learning to externalize judgment. Better prompts barely move the needle by comparison. I'll know… ## [The Autopilot Didn't Make Pilots Obsolete](https://geerttheys.substack.com/p/the-autopilot-didnt-make-pilots-obsolete) _2026-07-27 · Geert Theys · select \* from random\_thoughts_ The training didn't become pointless. It became the reason you can tell when the machine is wrong. ## [U.S. Inflation Is Not Really Slowing](https://theovershoot.co/p/us-inflation-is-not-really-slowing) _2026-07-20 · Matthew C. Klein · The Overshoot_ Freakish declines in motor vehicle insurance, phone bills, and jewelry are probably not indicative of any change in underlying trends. Plus: more on how the memory shortage is affecting PCE. ## [Book(s) Review: Agatha Christie’s Works](https://logos.substack.com/p/books-review-agatha-christies-works) _2026-07-18 · Aris C · Logos_ Agatha Christie is history’s best-selling novelist, on a par only with Shakespeare. ## [Assorted thoughts: on curiosity, sophistication, and grade inflation](https://logos.substack.com/p/assorted-thoughts-on-curiosity-sophistication) _2026-07-09 · Aris C · Logos_ I sometimes have something I want to write about, but which doesn’t merit a full post; I’ve collected a few such topics here. ## [The Win-Win Solution to "China Shock 2.0"](https://theovershoot.co/p/the-win-win-solution-to-china-shock) _2026-06-23 · Matthew C. Klein · The Overshoot_ The best way to address the concerns of China's trade partners is to let the Chinese people live better. ## [The Case for Higher U.S. Rates](https://theovershoot.co/p/the-case-for-higher-us-rates) _2026-06-17 · Matthew C. Klein · The Overshoot_ Hormuz may be opening up, but the combination of robust growth and stable-to-accelerating underlying inflation suggests that the previous bias to lowering rates was a mistake. ## [We Need a Config Standard for AI Coding Tools. We Won't Get One.](https://geerttheys.substack.com/p/we-need-a-config-standard-for-ai) _2026-06-15 · Geert Theys · select \* from random\_thoughts_ A rant about lock-in, dead frameworks, and the enshittification of the agentic tooling landscape ## [AI & Productivity](https://logos.substack.com/p/ai-and-productivity) _2026-06-13 · Aris C · Logos_ AI productivity gains aren't really thanks to AI ## [Fast, secure international transfers (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/SASOKlQ2gduh) _2026-06-13 · **Sponsored**_ Bank transfer, cash pickup, mobile wallet — low fees and real-time tracking ## [Yes, Living Standards Have Grown Slower in Northwest Europe than in the U.S.](https://theovershoot.co/p/yes-living-standards-have-grown-slower) _2026-06-03 · Matthew C. Klein · The Overshoot_ But what that means for relative income levels is much less clear. ## [LLMs vs. Human Engineers: Who Really Understands the Code?](https://geerttheys.substack.com/p/llms-vs-human-engineers-who-really) _2026-06-02 · Geert Theys · select \* from random\_thoughts_ What separates a software engineer from an LLM isn't raw output — it's causal ownership. Here's why that distinction matters more as AI tools get better. ## [My AI coding flow was burning tokens to do things code should do](https://geerttheys.substack.com/p/i-agent-deterministic-coding-flow) _2026-05-25 · Geert Theys · select \* from random\_thoughts_ How Pi Agent and a few deterministic extensions fixed my flow ## [Russia's Underwhelming Oil Revenue Windfall](https://theovershoot.co/p/russias-underwhelming-oil-revenue) _2026-05-15 · Matthew C. Klein · The Overshoot_ The latest data show that the increase in energy prices since the start of the conflict with Iran has done relatively little to improve the finances of the Russian government or its military industry. ## [The U.S. Job Market is (Still) Inflationary](https://theovershoot.co/p/the-us-job-market-is-still-inflationary) _2026-05-14 · Matthew C. Klein · The Overshoot_ Wage growth is now accelerating slightly, supporting the quickening of "supercore" service price increases. Plus: more on the health care wage slowdown mystery. ## [The Growth Impulse from the Data Center Boom](https://theovershoot.co/p/the-growth-impulse-from-the-data) _2026-05-02 · Matthew C. Klein · The Overshoot_ There is much less than meets the eye, although the official numbers may also be undercounting some of what is happening. ## [From a CLI Junkie: Why I Ditched OpenCode for Pi](https://geerttheys.substack.com/p/from-cli-junkie-to-pi-why-i-ditched) _2026-04-27 · Geert Theys · select \* from random\_thoughts_ On OpenCode's lobotomy-pruning, security disasters, and the freedom of a four-tool terminal agent. ## [Why Honcho finally solved my agent memory problem](https://geerttheys.substack.com/p/why-honcho-finally-solved-my-agent) _2026-04-20 · Geert Theys · select \* from random\_thoughts_ It doesn't just store your sessions. It dreams on them. ## ["Look Through" the Hormuz Shock if You Want. U.S. Inflation is Still Running Hot.](https://theovershoot.co/p/look-through-the-hormuz-shock-if) _2026-04-17 · Matthew C. Klein · The Overshoot_ A wide range of underlying measures indicates that prices are rising too fast to be consistent with the Fed's alleged 2% yearly target. Plus: explaining the CPI-PCE gap. ## [The AI Productivity Illusion: Why Ralph Loops Won’t Save Us](https://geerttheys.substack.com/p/the-ai-productivity-illusion-why) _2026-04-06 · Geert Theys · select \* from random\_thoughts_ What 25 years in engineering taught me about the hype cycle ## [Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/wTEI69S8XoIl) _2026-04-06 · **Sponsored**_ Buy, sell and margin trade BTC & ETH with fiat currencies ## [Where Vibecoding Actually Makes Sense](https://geerttheys.substack.com/p/where-vibecoding-actually-makes-sense) _2026-03-28 · Geert Theys · select \* from random\_thoughts_ I finally tried it. Here's when it works, when it doesn't, and why your Sunday afternoon might be the perfect use case. ## [On the aesthetics of Liberalism](https://logos.substack.com/p/on-the-aesthetics-of-liberalism) _2026-03-22 · Aris C · Logos_ Uniformity, diversity, and pessimism ## [Why Coding Isn’t Disappearing—It’s Evolving with LLMs](https://geerttheys.substack.com/p/why-coding-isnt-disappearingits-evolving) _2026-03-11 · Geert Theys · select \* from random\_thoughts_ Why LLMs Won’t Replace Developers (But Will Change How We Work) ## [The AI Productivity Illusion](https://geerttheys.substack.com/p/the-ai-productivity-illusion) _2026-03-03 · Geert Theys · select \* from random\_thoughts_ What happens when everyone can write it but no one understands it ## [Children and curiosity and imagination and perseverance](https://logos.substack.com/p/children-and-curiosity-and-imagination) _2026-02-07 · Aris C · Logos_ I came across a thread on cultivating agency in kids, and I have some thoughts on it. ## [Do not ban social media for kids](https://logos.substack.com/p/do-not-ban-social-media-for-kids) _2026-01-31 · Aris C · Logos_ Governments across the world are (considering) passing laws banning social media for children. ## [AI: Productivity Multiplier, Dysfunction Amplifier](https://yves.vg/blog/ai_productivity_multiplier_dysfunction_amplifier.html) _2026-01-25 · Yves Van Goethem's blog_ ## [How to make an app](https://logos.substack.com/p/how-to-make-an-app) _2026-01-24 · Aris C · Logos_ Without any technical skills ## [2025 Book Reviews](https://logos.substack.com/p/2025-book-reviews) _2025-12-08 · Aris C · Logos_ This is my annual rapid-fire book reviews post. ## [The contrasting philosophies of Bojack Horseman and Black Mirror](https://logos.substack.com/p/the-contrasting-philosophies-of-bojack) _2025-11-25 · Aris C · Logos_ On personal responsibility ## [Some thoughts on cultural christianity](https://logos.substack.com/p/some-thoughts-on-cultural-christianity) _2025-11-22 · Aris C · Logos_ And religious conversion more generally ## [Autonomy through frequent Alignment](https://yves.vg/blog/autonomy-through-frequent-alignment.html) _2025-03-12 · Yves Van Goethem's blog_