Jonathan Hiller

building things

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

the most important thing we can develop is tolerance with uncertainty.

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

most popular claude memory update right now: ‘never be sycophantic to me.’

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

My heart is heavy this weekend.

I'm not going to pretend I have perfect ethical clarity on what is happening in Iran. The history is long, the grievances are deep, and I am skeptical of anyone speaking in absolute certainties right now.

But I know what I feel.

I feel the weight of civilians who didn't choose this. I feel the weight of more Forever Wars. I feel the particular, modern exhaustion of watching the world's most sophisticated influence systems flatten human suffering into algorithmic soundbites.

And I feel a different kind of weight, too. The weight of a builder.

In 2024, I directed the content machine for RFK Jr.'s independent campaign. That machine ultimately served to elect the President.

I resigned in protest when that endorsement happened for many reasons, so I bring this up not as an apology, but as a reckoning with what it means to build at scale.

I keep returning to that reckoning in moments like this. We are watching wars unfold in real-time, while simultaneously entering the most significant technological epoch in human history.

Systems and architecture do not have values. The people who control them do. All of us who build are implicated in what our tools ultimately serve.

I am ensconced in the AI space now. I see the progress rapidly accelerating. I see our collective inability to map our daily, personal realities to the reality of the end of the exponential. And I am deeply worried that the infrastructure these companies are building is mapped to a future that doesn't prioritize human thriving.

So, if you are building something in the AI space, and you find yourself sitting with more questions than answers right now... I'd genuinely love to talk to you.

Let's connect.

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

@wesamo__ thank you.

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

based.

[Anthropic @AnthropicAI]

A statement from Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, on our discussions with the Department of War.

https://t.co/rM77LJejuk

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

it is real and accelerating.

[jack @jack]

we're making @blocks smaller today. here's my note to the company.

####

today we're making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: we're reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. that means over 4,000 of you are being asked to leave or entering into consultation. i'll be straight about what's happening, why, and what it means for everyone.

first off, if you're one of the people affected, you'll receive your salary for 20 weeks + 1 week per year of tenure, equity vested through the end of may, 6 months of health care, your corporate devices, and $5,000 to put toward whatever you need to help you in this transition (if you’re outside the U.S. you’ll receive similar support but exact details are going to vary based on local requirements). i want you to know that before anything else. everyone will be notified today, whether you're being asked to leave, entering consultation, or asked to stay.

we're not making this decision because we're in trouble. our business is strong. gross profit continues to grow, we continue to serve more and more customers, and profitability is improving. but something has changed. we're already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company. and that's accelerating rapidly.

i had two options: cut gradually over months or years as this shift plays out, or be honest about where we are and act on it now. i chose the latter. repeated rounds of cuts are destructive to morale, to focus, and to the trust that customers and shareholders place in our ability to lead. i'd rather take a hard, clear action now and build from a position we believe in than manage a slow reduction of people toward the same outcome. a smaller company also gives us the space to grow our business the right way, on our own terms, instead of constantly reacting to market pressures.

a decision at this scale carries risk. but so does standing still. we've done a full review to determine the roles and people we require to reliably grow the business from here, and we've pressure-tested those decisions from multiple angles. i accept that we may have gotten some of them wrong, and we've built in flexibility to account for that, and do the right thing for our customers.

we're not going to just disappear people from slack and email and pretend they were never here. communication channels will stay open through thursday evening (pacific) so everyone can say goodbye properly, and share whatever you wish. i'll also be hosting a live video session to thank everyone at 3:35pm pacific. i know doing it this way might feel awkward. i'd rather it feel awkward and human than efficient and cold.

to those of you leaving…i’m grateful for you, and i’m sorry to put you through this. you built what this company is today. that's a fact that i'll honor forever. this decision is not a reflection of what you contributed. you will be a great contributor to any organization going forward.

to those staying…i made this decision, and i'll own it. what i'm asking of you is to build with me. we're going to build this company with intelligence at the core of everything we do. how we work, how we create, how we serve our customers. our customers will feel this shift too, and we're going to help them navigate it: towards a future where they can build their own features directly, composed of our capabilities and served through our interfaces. that's what i'm focused on now. expect a note from me tomorrow.

jack

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

Your morality has an off switch. It’s called dehumanization.

The Bandura Experiment (1975) exposed a terrifying feature of human psychology.

Researchers asked cognitively normal students to shock a stranger.

If the victim was casually labeled "animalistic" beforehand, the students ramped the voltage to brutal levels.

The cold truth: You don't need to be a monster to inflict pain. You just need to be told the victim isn't human.

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

when we view the world obsessively through the lens of political combat, a human being ceases to be a father, a husband, or a creator. he becomes only a symbol: an Us to be mourned or a Them to be mocked. if we can explain the tragedy as a result of "their politics," we remain safe. we remain separate. it’s Fear ruling the day.

we don’t take the bait to dehumanize in return. we take a pause.

we ask: what kind of world have we built where a leader can look at a tragedy this profound and see only an opportunity to score points? and more importantly: how do we build a world where such a response is no longer intelligible?

it begins by reclaiming the reverence of life and death from the marketplace of politics. rest in peace, Rob and Michele. may we honor you by laying down our weapons, if only for a moment, to grieve.

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

@apokeu yup 👍

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

based with no honor is gut rot in a tailored suit.

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

principles vs. personalities.

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

i feel like ‘just vibe code it’ is the new ‘just fix it in post’

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

Notice, none of us are talking about the real issues:
1. Loneliness & disconnection
2. Polarization & tribalism
3. Loss of connection to nature
4. Economic inequality
5. Anxiety & overstimulation
6. Complete commodification of the self
7. Hopelessness & despair
8. Loss of meaning

[Dave Troy @davetroy]

People need to understand that the darkest forms of online radicalization don't lead to 'left' or 'right' orientations, but rather to an extreme, cynical, and purposely impenetrable disdain for society and existing power structures. Everything is irony; everything is a joke.

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

Left v. Right hyper-polarization doesn’t come close to properly explaining what chronically online culture is doing to young men.

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

@growing_daniel it doesn’t have to..

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

thoughts today..

[Jonathan Hiller @itsjonhiller]

@AnnaRMatson thank you.