This can be a column about AI. My fiancé works at Anthropic. See my full ethics disclosure here.
I started the yr with a flurry of vibe-coding tasks: beginning by canceling my Squarespace account and constructing a brand new private web site, and continuing to construct a set of instruments for creating every day briefings, a journaling companion, and a Platformer archive. The tasks had been so helpful, and really easy to create, that originally I didn’t spend a lot time serious about how unattractive they had been. Apart from the web site (attractive), my new instruments had been both accessible by the terminal or Markdown recordsdata: purposeful, however fugly.
I’ve continued to make use of these instruments intermittently. Over time, although, their lack of polish got here to nag at me. And so I took discover when, in March, Raycast announced Glaze — an all-in-one vibe-coding app for the Mac. The place most coding instruments are programming generalists, Glaze was constructed with the categorical goal of constructing (and sharing) desktop apps. It was not the primary to this concept — Wabi, whose founder Eugenia Kuyda I interviewed right here final month, does the identical factor for cellular apps — however as somebody who does most of my work on a laptop computer, I discovered Glaze extra instantly interesting. Significantly given Raycast’s observe document — its launcher app is one in every of my favourite and most-used items of software program.
I added my title to the waitlist and forgot about it. Then, originally of June, my invitation confirmed up in my inbox.
Final week, Glaze opened up to all users. It features a free tier with a one-time bundle of credit that may allow you to construct an app or two; after that you will want a Professional subscription — $20 a month at launch — which refreshes with 200 credit month-to-month and allows you to purchase extra in the event you run out.
In my first month, I constructed three apps that I’ve been utilizing to perform varied duties. All of them contain productiveness in a single sense or one other, although just one has any sensible utility that extends past what was already accessible within the App Retailer.
Nonetheless, I’ve discovered the method of creating Mac apps pleasant, even when what I’ve made is extraordinarily foolish. And whereas in the end my conclusions in regards to the subsequent era of vibe coding don’t lengthen far past “it’s enjoyable to make issues” … it’s enjoyable to make issues! And that has made me modestly extra assured that there’s a future for hyper-personalized software program, at the least within the quick time period.
So with that, listed below are a couple of notes on my early efforts to usher within the SaaS-pocalypse.
By far essentially the most ridiculous app I’ve made up to now is known as Nightwing, after the DC superhero. Lately, in an effort to observe much less YouTube, I’ve begun studying a comic book guide or two earlier than mattress. My authentic comic-book part had taken place in center college; I hadn’t picked up a brand new one in 30 years. However one thing in regards to the profusion of AI-generated slop in all my social feeds had made me determined to see and pay for some handmade human artwork, and so a pair months in the past I purchased subscriptions to Marvel and DC’s respective comic-book apps and started digging into what I had missed.
One superhero whose tales I discovered myself having fun with was Nightwing — Batman’s authentic Robin, all grown up and main a staff of superheroes in varied world-shaking conflicts. Across the time I received entry to Glaze I had the wonderful, horrible concept of making a Nightwing-themed to-do app.
To-do apps are the traditional first vibe-coding challenge, and there’s nearly by no means any good motive to make one other one. (I can’t think about anybody meaningfully enhancing on Todoist.) Nonetheless, I discover myself altering to-do apps roughly each six months for aesthetic causes, and for the reduction that comes from beginning contemporary with a clean slate of tasks.
Inside a couple of minutes of utilizing Glaze, its benefits over a pure coding app like Claude Code turned obvious. (A minimum of, to a non-technical individual like myself.)
Glaze begins with a working Mac app template, which helps you to skip numerous prompting and scaffolding work. It compiles and installs the app mechanically — one other large time saver. It calls image-generation fashions natively, which Claude Code doesn’t. And maybe most helpfully, you’ll be able to edit your app whereas it’s open — even drawing a circle round particular parts you need to change to information the coding agent.
You may publish your app to Glaze’s retailer if you’d like, or browse different folks’s creations to seek out inspiration. For essentially the most half I’ve discovered apps within the retailer fairly boring — featured strategies embody a PDF reader, a subscription tracker, and a Claude utilization monitor.
My Nightwing app is defiantly absurd by comparability. On the click on of a button, I can generate a picture of a Nightwing-esque character doing any activity that’s on my checklist: sending an e mail, shopping for groceries, getting an MRI. Once I mark it accomplished, comic-book-style “increase!” and “pow!” animations fly throughout my display screen.
A widget on the backside of the app affords a synopsis of a random concern of the Nightwing comedian guide, whereas the “concern quantity” on the high of the app tells me what day of the yr it’s.
Is any of this remotely essential? After all not. Does it characterize a copyright violation and an indictment of the security guardrails of the LLM supplier I’m utilizing to generate these photographs? Nearly definitely.
Within the meantime, although, my little app has succeeded the place no earlier to-do app has so far: making my chores enjoyable. For me. Till not too long ago, software program growth was too costly to pursue one thing so silly. Not anymore!
Furthermore, all of those options happened by me typing what I wished right into a field, and watching the app replace dwell in entrance of my eyes. These dwell visible updates made vibe coding really feel simpler and extra interactive than it has been up to now.
After Nightwing, I constructed a greater Platformer app. For the primary model, I used Claude Code to ingest the publication’s total archive and permit me to run semantic searches over it. That is helpful for reminding me what I’ve stated a couple of specific topic, and when — “summarize my latest protection of Meta’s Oversight Board,” for instance, is extra helpful than a Google search, notably on deadline.
However operating these searches has required launching the terminal, launching Claude Code, after which invoking the ability related to this specific challenge. It’s not arduous, precisely, however I’ve used it lower than I may need in any other case as a result of friction concerned.
With Glaze, I shortly constructed a Platformer app that now lives in my dock. Just like the Claude Code app, it might run queries over your entire archive utilizing my Anthropic API key. However it additionally extracted the important thing matters and folks I return to again and again, and I can browse my protection of them by clicking on the chips that sit on the app’s residence web page. I additionally added a feed of my most up-to-date 10 columns to the house web page, together with randomly chosen quotes from the previous six years.
If my Nightwing app is foolish, this one is sort of severe. It’s an affordable, elegant analysis assistant that nobody else would ever have constructed for me, and I put it collectively in a couple of day. It’s the kind of app that I can think about being helpful to writers of all types, whether or not for journalists protecting observe of beat protection or fiction writers attempting to remain on high of their lore. And it may be tailored to the author’s actual wants, no matter these is likely to be, and nevertheless they may change over time.
My last challenge continues to be half-baked. It’s a contacts app that I’m attempting to adapt for my journalism referred to as Supply Code. I’ve by no means been nice at protecting observe of who I speak to and when, and with Supply Code I’ve mixed the contacts in my telephone with my contacts on LinkedIn to start to construct a extra visible graph of my community.
What I actually need is to create a CRM-like system for updating my community’s contact data mechanically as their jobs change — a form of personal, domestically saved LinkedIn the place I can add notes and paperwork, and maybe run semantic queries as properly. (“Who do I do know who used to work at Google?”)
For the second, I’m pondering by points associated to privateness and safety. I’m additionally undecided whether or not I even like my present design, or whether or not I need to pay for a CRM service.
Nonetheless, I really feel a way of pleasure and risk that I by no means beforehand felt whereas updating a contacts supervisor. A lot of the historic expertise of utilizing software program is having to place up with the issues that suck about it. The brand new vibe-coding instruments promise a world the place no matter sucks in regards to the software program you utilize will be modified — immediately.
If it’s boring, make it humorous. If it’s ugly, make it fairly. For too lengthy, software program has anticipated us to bend to its will. Glaze and different vibe-coding instruments are turning that logic on its head — and the revenge feels very candy certainly.
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China weighs limiting AI
What occurred: This month, Chinese language authorities met with AI builders to debate doubtlessly limiting worldwide entry to China’s most superior fashions, Reuters reports. Firms together with Alibaba, ByteDance, and Z.ai had been concerned within the talks.
Previously few years, Chinese language AI corporations have become known for his or her open fashions — LLMs near the frontier that builders can obtain and customise. China’s Ministry of Commerce is now in discussions with these corporations to limit these open fashions, in addition to closed ones. Officers talked about making any leak or theft of proprietary AI tech an offense beneath China’s nationwide safety legislation.
Chinese language authorities are very anxious about Anthropic’s cyber-capable Mythos mannequin, Reuters reviews. Consequently, officers are weighing insurance policies just like these the Trump administration adopted this month. (US officers have requested OpenAI and Anthropic to restrict their strongest fashions to a small group of accredited organizations, and solely previously week lifted export restrictions on Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable fashions.
Why we’re following: Mythos — and the Trump administration’s sturdy response to it — are drawing extra consideration to the nationwide safety implications of AI methods.
If China’s proposed restrictions go into impact, startups and researchers around the globe that depend on open fashions to carry out duties cheaply and customizably would have fewer, and worse, choices.
Providing open fashions that stay near the frontier has helped pace adoption for Chinese language AI builders like Alibaba and DeepSeek. However it’s much less clear what China stands to realize from persevering with to proliferate open fashions: Alibaba has been struggling to monetize its Qwen line regardless of excessive efficiency and a big consumer base, and highly effective open fashions might in the end profit China’s adversaries simply as a lot as they profit home pursuits.
What individuals are saying: On X, Brookings analysis fellow Kyle Chan wrote that he’s not sure “whether or not Beijing would put a tough restrict on open-source mannequin capabilities, given how central open supply has been to China’s total AI technique.”
On Bluesky, Wharton economics professor Ethan Mollick thought such limits would possibly happen: “This can be a key motive I don’t count on the move of frontier open weights fashions to proceed indefinitely, and even for very for much longer. The hole between open and closed capabilities might quickly begin to develop, not shrink.”
—Ella Markianos
Australia’s social media ban stumbles
What occurred:
Australia’s pioneering under-16 social media ban is failing at the 1st step as platforms are failing to confirm customers’ ages, a brand new research discovered. Out of fifty check accounts the place customers claimed to be 16, platforms requested for proof of age on none of them, researchers told Reuters.
The oversight comes from the preliminary vetting stage that estimates a consumer’s age vary based mostly on their on-line exercise, the researchers stated, which doesn’t seem like flagging younger customers for additional checks.
Whereas not one of the platforms let customers join in the event that they stated they had been beneath 16, just one — streaming platform Kick — refused to let customers create an account with out proof of age. (A Kick spokesperson stated the platform couldn’t depend on age estimation as a result of it didn’t have sufficient information to guess a consumer’s age.)
A Meta spokesperson stated the check accounts said they had been over the minimal age and it was unclear if the accounts had “posted content material or engaged in a method a real under-16-year-old consumer would.”
Why we’re following: The ban has certainly been ineffective to a big extent — analysis printed final month discovered that 80 % of under-16s are nonetheless on social media three months after the ban, as we coated in final week’s Platformer column.
Australia’s authorities stated the nation will double the utmost fines in opposition to corporations that break the legislation in response to the research and accused the platforms of setting the ban as much as fail. Its eSafety Commissioner is actively investigating Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube.
Regardless of the ineffectiveness in Australia up to now, bans stay in style. Final week, a Pew survey discovered that almost six in 10 People now help banning social media for these beneath 16.
What individuals are saying: “We did need to speak about circumvention, however we stored on being informed that that wasn’t half of the particular trial,” Colm Gannon, an advisor on a 2025 trial that ran earlier than the ban took impact and the Australia CEO of the Worldwide Centre for Lacking & Exploited Kids, informed Reuters. “What we are actually seeing is that circumvention has grow to be the go-to by younger folks.”
—Lindsey Choo
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