Michael Lopp
Engineering manager who has worked at Apple, Netscape, Slack and Palantir; writes as Rands at randsinrepose.com and wrote Managing Humans.
Michael Lopp did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
Latest Bluesky
What they believe
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AI chatbots are tuned to produce an answer that feels satisfying to the user rather than one that is correct.
I do know that the robot's primary job in responding is to make sure you get a satisfying answer. I didn't say correct; I said satisfying.
randsinrepose.comSaid 15 Sept 2026This on korrents
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The people who would most need to disclose AI-generated content are the least motivated to actually disclose it.
The content for which you want this the most would be the responsibility of humans who are the least motivated to use such a system.
randsinrepose.comSaid 19 Aug 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Feed
As its own page →Hiding
7 October
5 October
1 October
28 September
23 September
22 September
21 September
15 September
From one piece Robots Have No Voice 2 beliefs · randsinrepose.com
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korrents.com
Good writing reveals how the person who wrote it actually thinks, which is what AI-generated text lacks.Their words
Good writing captures voice. Good writing documents how another human thinks.
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korrents.com
AI chatbots are tuned to produce an answer that feels satisfying to the user rather than one that is correct.Their words
I do know that the robot's primary job in responding is to make sure you get a satisfying answer. I didn't say correct; I said satisfying.
11 September
6 September
26 August
25 August
19 August
- Bluesky
- Bluesky
- Mastodon
From one piece How Grumbles Helps 3 beliefs · randsinrepose.com
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Their words
The same skills I use to lead the humans, I use to lead the robots.
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korrents.com
Very soon, an AI assistant will be a constant presence, virtual or physical, with nearly everyone.Their words
I believe I see where this is all going, and very, very soon, there will be a robot (which happens to have artificial intelligence) sitting virtually or physically near me.
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korrents.com
The people who would most need to disclose AI-generated content are the least motivated to actually disclose it.Their words
The content for which you want this the most would be the responsibility of humans who are the least motivated to use such a system.
18 August
Nothing matches.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 11 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
AI chatbots are tuned to produce an answer that feels satisfying to the user rather than one that is correct.
I do know that the robot's primary job in responding is to make sure you get a satisfying answer. I didn't say correct; I said satisfying.
Robots Have No Voice Said 15 Sept 2026
Good writing reveals how the person who wrote it actually thinks, which is what AI-generated text lacks.
Good writing captures voice. Good writing documents how another human thinks.
Robots Have No Voice Said 15 Sept 2026
The people who would most need to disclose AI-generated content are the least motivated to actually disclose it.
The content for which you want this the most would be the responsibility of humans who are the least motivated to use such a system.
How Grumbles Helps Said 19 Aug 2026
Show 8 more
Very soon, an AI assistant will be a constant presence, virtual or physical, with nearly everyone.
I believe I see where this is all going, and very, very soon, there will be a robot (which happens to have artificial intelligence) sitting virtually or physically near me.
How Grumbles Helps Said 19 Aug 2026
The skills required to lead people are the same skills required to lead AI systems.
The same skills I use to lead the humans, I use to lead the robots.
How Grumbles Helps Said 19 Aug 2026
Anthropic's rollout of Claude's watermarking policy was tone-deaf, clumsy, and alarming.
However, this is a tone-deaf, clumsy, and alarming opening salvo in their watermark strategy.
RIP Claude Said 13 Aug 2026
Anthropic's current strategy toward writers who use AI for editing and research is aggressively hostile to them.
My writing is my work, and Anthropic's current strategy is aggressively writer-hostile.
RIP Claude Said 13 Aug 2026
Good leaders lead by example rather than by mandate.
The document can read like a manifesto. Good leaders don't lead by mandate; they lead by example.
Fifteen Tics Said 10 Aug 2026
Flat or leaderless organizational structures eventually give way to some form of leadership.
Three years later, gone. Turns out you need some form of leadership in your team.
Fifteen Tics Said 10 Aug 2026
A task placed on an engineering backlog is effectively never going to get done.
An engineer putting a piece of work on their backlog is effectively deferring it to never.
R.I.P. Your Backlog Said 8 Aug 2026
When teams clear out a backlog, they tend to pick the interesting items rather than the most important ones.
Interesting to code or interesting because of the impact on the feature. Some kind of interesting briefly elevates this work to relevance.
R.I.P. Your Backlog Said 8 Aug 2026
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 16 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Mixed on Tumi bag
I have a Tumi bag which is ugly, but affords me more space for long haul travel accessories.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Uses Zebra Sarasa gel pen
I religiously use the .5 Zebra Sarasa gel pen to write all things
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Liked MacBook Pro (15-inch)
The Pro feels like aluminum brick that is comfortable traveling anywhere on the planet.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Show 13 more
Liked Chrome
For information consumption and tracking, I've recently moved to Chrome because of the blazing speed
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Loved Keynote
For presentations, I love, absolutely love, Keynote. In my opinion, if you want to see the pinnacle of Apple application design, spend some time in Keynote.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Liked TextMate
For most coding tasks, TextMate is just fine.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Disliked Microsoft Word
For subsequent drafts and editing, I end up in Microsoft Word which pisses me off.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Uses TextEdit
For writing first drafts, I use TextEdit and have done so for the writing of two books. I've tried a variety of different writing applications, but they always distract me from doing what I love which is writing.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Liked Things
If I had to commit to a productivity application, it'd be Things.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Liked NetNewsWire
If I had to commit to a newsreader, it'd be NetNewsWire. If I had to commit to a productivity application, it'd be Things.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Uses LaunchBar
I'm a LaunchBar guy. Any time I have to touch the mouse, I feel inefficient.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Mixed on Tumi
If I'm traveling elsewhere on the planet, I have a Tumi bag which is ugly, but affords me more space for long haul travel accessories.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Liked Johnson & Murphy messenger bag
My mobile set-up follows me around in a Johnson & Murphy messenger bag that is perfect for getting around the Valley and is wearing well.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Uses Zebra Sarasa
I religiously use the .5 Zebra Sarasa gel pen to write all things, I write in ALL CAPS, and I collect bells.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Mixed on Panasonic DMC-LX3
If I'm busting a photography move, I have a Panasonic DMC-LX3 which provides lovely 16:9 shots, but the lens is too fucking big for my pocket.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Loved Logitech Performance Mouse MX
For mousing, I use the Logitech Performance Mouse MX because it feels great in my hand and has the best scroll wheel I've found.
usesthis.com 9 Jul 2010
Where they publish
Blog randsinrepose.com His blog, written as Rands.
Link verified 4 Sept 2026.
Mastodon @rands@mastodon.social Where he posts.
Recent
- Being early is not a crime. 7 Oct 2026
- Wherein I am sad that Robert Cringley died, but am so happy that he and others made me a better writer: 5 Oct 2026 randsinrepose.com
- Trump rebranding AI as superintelligence is both ironic and stupid at the same time. 1 Oct 2026
Show 17 more
- I think agents/personal_assistants are "the way". There is no timeline in which I use Facebook-owned services to do this. a) It's an ad company b) it's Facebook. 28 Sept 2026
- Updated the charging guide for the Apple September Event because how fast things charge matters to a lot of people: 23 Sept 2026 randsinrepose.com
- I'm late to it, but Widow's Bay is worth every moment of your time. 22 Sept 2026
- After years of not playing EA NHL, I bought the latest because of Celebrini on the cover and am delighted to be reminded that EA doesn’t really know how to launch games. 21 Sept 2026
- On the intense emptiness you feel when reading robot-generated text: 15 Sept 2026 randsinrepose.com
- Robots are good at searching through large sets of data. By far the most valuable one I’ve found is my Gmail account, which I’ve actively used since 2007. It is an actual gold mine. 11 Sept 2026
- Increasingly, if your app has no API, it has become dead to my robot accomplices and me. 6 Sept 2026
- Wow, the new movie must be really good: 26 Aug 2026 wired.com
- Rands needs a home: 25 Aug 2026 petfinder.com
- How I use the robots to manage the blog: 19 Aug 2026 randsinrepose.com
- Whenever I am feeling down: 19 Aug 2026 youtube.com
- The happiest place on earth: 18 Aug 2026 sippey.com
- Back on Inconsolata as the Terminal/Ghostty typeface primarily because of clarity and information density — it packs a lot of letters into a tidy amount of space. 15 Aug 2026 en.wikipedia.org
- Aggressively writer-hostile: 13 Aug 2026 randsinrepose.com
- I am “video game adrift” in my post-Destiny depression. Redid Diablo 4, Saros was fun; thinking about James Bond. Did Arc Raiders. Help. 12 Aug 2026
- Thinking takes practice: 10 Aug 2026 randsinrepose.com
- So the cure for one entity having too much control is... routing everyone's personal AI agent through Meta. Sure. Right. Good idea, Zuck. 10 Aug 2026
Link verified 4 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
Bluesky rands.bsky.social Where he also posts.
Recent
- Being early is not a crime. 7 Oct 2026
- Wherein I am sad that Robert Cringley died, but am so happy that he and others made me a better writer: 5 Oct 2026 randsinrepose.com
- Trump rebranding AI as superintelligence is both ironic and stupid at the same time. 1 Oct 2026
Show 17 more
- I think agents/personal_assistants are "the way". There is no timeline in which I use Facebook-owned services to do this. a) It's an ad company b) it's Facebook. 28 Sept 2026
- Updated the charging guide for the Apple September Event because how fast things charge matters to a lot of people: 23 Sept 2026 randsinrepose.com
- I'm late to it, but Widow's Bay is worth every moment of your time. 22 Sept 2026
- After years of not playing EA NHL, I bought the latest because of Celebrini on the cover and am delighted to be reminded that EA doesn’t really know how to launch games. 21 Sept 2026
- On the intense emptiness you feel when reading robot-generated text: 15 Sept 2026 randsinrepose.com
- Robots are good at searching through large sets of data. By far the most valuable one I’ve found is my Gmail account, which I’ve actively used since 2007. It is an actual gold mine. 11 Sept 2026
- Increasingly, if your app has no API, it has become dead to my robot accomplices and me. 6 Sept 2026
- Wow, the new movie must be really good: 26 Aug 2026 wired.com
- Rands needs a home: 25 Aug 2026 petfinder.com
- How I use the robots to manage the blog: 19 Aug 2026 randsinrepose.com
- Whenever I am feeling down: 19 Aug 2026 youtube.com
- The happiest place on earth: 18 Aug 2026 sippey.com
- Back on Inconsolata as the Terminal/Ghostty typeface primarily because of clarity and information density — it packs a lot of letters into a tidy amount of space. 15 Aug 2026 en.wikipedia.org
- Aggressively writer-hostile: 13 Aug 2026 randsinrepose.com
- I am “video game adrift” in my post-Destiny depression. Redid Diablo 4, Saros was fun; thinking about James Bond. Did Arc Raiders. Help. 12 Aug 2026
- Thinking takes practice: 10 Aug 2026 randsinrepose.com
- So the cure for one entity having too much control is... routing everyone's personal AI agent through Meta. Sure. Right. Good idea, Zuck. 10 Aug 2026
Link verified 4 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
About the English under a post
Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.
The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.
Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.