ai makes building software so cheap that users could just build the tools they want themselves

how does software get shaped today?

  1. devs build features, users just use them
    • if the feature you want doesnt exist, tough luck
  2. some software lets users build a bit themselves, like excel
    • a cell can hold a formula like =A1+A2, so non programmers end up programming without realising
    • but this caps out, turning a rough idea into real code is hard, so most people stop at simple formulas

what does ai change?

  • ai turns a rough idea into real code for you
  • so users can build whole tools on the fly, e.g “make me a tool that shows which customers havent paid this month”
  • this gives you two loops
    1. inner loop: use the tool to do x, e.g check who hasnt paid
    2. outer loop: ask the ai to change the tool, e.g “also show how late they are”
      • excel already works like this, typing in numbers is the inner loop, editing formulas is the outer loop
flowchart LR
  you((you)) -->|inner loop: use the tool to do x| tool[your tool]
  you -->|outer loop: ask the ai to change it| ai[ai]
  ai -->|updates| tool

so whats next?

  • security: ai written tools run on shared data and nobody reviews them, so what stops a tool from leaking that data? does every tool need permissions like phone apps?
  • tools vs data: if you share a tool, do you only share the code and have it run on each users own data, so nothing leaks?
  • if tools are this cheap, why share at all? maybe the only reason is trust, a shared tool is already tested and debugged
  • sharing does have a nice upside, users make tools better for other users, but does that survive when making your own is ~free?
  • forks: i copy your tool and tweak it, someone tweaks mine, now 50 versions give slightly different numbers, which ones right?
  • breaking: someone renames a column and 200 tools nobody owns break, does the ai fix them, and how do you know the fix is right?
  • wrong answers: beginners cant catch ai mistakes, so a subtly wrong shared tool spreads the mistake to everyone
  • liability: a coworkers shared tool makes a payment mistake, whos to blame?
  • money: if users build the features, the vendor sells the data layer and the sharing layer, is that just notion and airtable again?
  • agents: if agents do the work, tools dont need a ui at all, just safe functions over data

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