Erin Casali
@folletto.bsky.social
Musings on design, product, psychology, society and business. Often discussing good leadership and (remote) orgs. With a side of randomness.
she/her 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Now: Sr. Director, Product Design, Xero
Ex: VP Product & Design, Jetpack / WordPress / WooCommerce
she/her 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Now: Sr. Director, Product Design, Xero
Ex: VP Product & Design, Jetpack / WordPress / WooCommerce
Pinned
Erin Casali
@folletto.bsky.social
· Oct 8
Intense Minimalism Newsletter
This is the newsletter by Erin Casali on design, psychology, business, and tech.
intenseminimalism.ck.page
I just restarted sending my newsletter after... 3 years?
Why am I saying this after I sent instead of before to get more followers? I kinda like at this point to do things a bit randomly and not following "growth" patterns.
Anyhow, here it is:
intenseminimalism.ck.page/newsletter
Why am I saying this after I sent instead of before to get more followers? I kinda like at this point to do things a bit randomly and not following "growth" patterns.
Anyhow, here it is:
intenseminimalism.ck.page/newsletter
Rarely we see this density of red flags in such a short text…
And such bright reds!
Imagine reading ‘wants the world to be better’ and going “ugh that’s not a good date”.
And such bright reds!
Imagine reading ‘wants the world to be better’ and going “ugh that’s not a good date”.
"Men need to spend money to get laid!"
Meanwhile, just the other day...
Meanwhile, just the other day...
December 5, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Rarely we see this density of red flags in such a short text…
And such bright reds!
Imagine reading ‘wants the world to be better’ and going “ugh that’s not a good date”.
And such bright reds!
Imagine reading ‘wants the world to be better’ and going “ugh that’s not a good date”.
Meta needs to keep at least 50% otherwise it needs to change the name back to Facebook.
Or change to some permutation of Llama.
Wait.
Ok that would be rad.
Or change to some permutation of Llama.
Wait.
Ok that would be rad.
Wrong framing: "Meta cutting Metaverse resources by 30%"
Correct framing: "Meta still setting 70% of resources on fire, for some reason"
Correct framing: "Meta still setting 70% of resources on fire, for some reason"
Meta’s Zuckerberg Plans Deep Cuts for Metaverse Efforts
Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg is expected to meaningfully cut resources for building the so-called metaverse, an effort that he once framed as the future of the company and the reason for chan...
www.bloomberg.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Meta needs to keep at least 50% otherwise it needs to change the name back to Facebook.
Or change to some permutation of Llama.
Wait.
Ok that would be rad.
Or change to some permutation of Llama.
Wait.
Ok that would be rad.
Reposted by Erin Casali
“Blah,” said Toad.
December 4, 2025 at 2:37 PM
“Blah,” said Toad.
Even the study imho is accepting a faulty premise: that the essay is the goal.
If the goal is to create an essay, then sure I can pay someone else (human or LLM) to do it for me.
If the goal is learning, it’s trivially obvious that’s not happening there.
The comparison is with *reading* an essay.
If the goal is to create an essay, then sure I can pay someone else (human or LLM) to do it for me.
If the goal is learning, it’s trivially obvious that’s not happening there.
The comparison is with *reading* an essay.
“When participants used ChatGPT to draft essays, brain scans revealed a 47% drop in neural connectivity across regions associated with memory, language, & critical reasoning.
Their brains worked less, but they felt just as engaged—a kind of metacognitive mirage.”🧪
Their brains worked less, but they felt just as engaged—a kind of metacognitive mirage.”🧪
December 4, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Even the study imho is accepting a faulty premise: that the essay is the goal.
If the goal is to create an essay, then sure I can pay someone else (human or LLM) to do it for me.
If the goal is learning, it’s trivially obvious that’s not happening there.
The comparison is with *reading* an essay.
If the goal is to create an essay, then sure I can pay someone else (human or LLM) to do it for me.
If the goal is learning, it’s trivially obvious that’s not happening there.
The comparison is with *reading* an essay.
Reposted by Erin Casali
Not trying to burst any bubbles; but Spotify is over.
They are airing ICE recruitment ads, the CEO has been investing in military/AI tech, they barely pay their artists; sometimes a percentage of a cent per stream, they promote “fake/AI artist” playlists, and there’s major concerns about data use.
They are airing ICE recruitment ads, the CEO has been investing in military/AI tech, they barely pay their artists; sometimes a percentage of a cent per stream, they promote “fake/AI artist” playlists, and there’s major concerns about data use.
December 3, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Not trying to burst any bubbles; but Spotify is over.
They are airing ICE recruitment ads, the CEO has been investing in military/AI tech, they barely pay their artists; sometimes a percentage of a cent per stream, they promote “fake/AI artist” playlists, and there’s major concerns about data use.
They are airing ICE recruitment ads, the CEO has been investing in military/AI tech, they barely pay their artists; sometimes a percentage of a cent per stream, they promote “fake/AI artist” playlists, and there’s major concerns about data use.
Horrifying how the space for trans women is shrinking more and more every week.
Yes,
they could have fought back.
Yes,
they have been threatened legal action by the usual TERFs / fascists that funnel money behind the scenes.
Doesn’t matter in the end.
Trans people are being removed from public.
Yes,
they could have fought back.
Yes,
they have been threatened legal action by the usual TERFs / fascists that funnel money behind the scenes.
Doesn’t matter in the end.
Trans people are being removed from public.
December 3, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Horrifying how the space for trans women is shrinking more and more every week.
Yes,
they could have fought back.
Yes,
they have been threatened legal action by the usual TERFs / fascists that funnel money behind the scenes.
Doesn’t matter in the end.
Trans people are being removed from public.
Yes,
they could have fought back.
Yes,
they have been threatened legal action by the usual TERFs / fascists that funnel money behind the scenes.
Doesn’t matter in the end.
Trans people are being removed from public.
Very good points here.
‘Your Party’ voted in favor to include trans liberation in the party goals.
Yet, in summary:
. It needed a vote, wasn’t there by default
. It still has a % of people that voted against higher than general population
So “good, but…”
‘Your Party’ voted in favor to include trans liberation in the party goals.
Yet, in summary:
. It needed a vote, wasn’t there by default
. It still has a % of people that voted against higher than general population
So “good, but…”
It’s a good start, to be fair. Caveat tho...
Quoting for alt text:
Credit where credit is due, comrades who joined Your Party said this was their intention and they achieved it.
Credit where credit is due, comrades who joined Your Party said this was their intention and they achieved it.
December 1, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Very good points here.
‘Your Party’ voted in favor to include trans liberation in the party goals.
Yet, in summary:
. It needed a vote, wasn’t there by default
. It still has a % of people that voted against higher than general population
So “good, but…”
‘Your Party’ voted in favor to include trans liberation in the party goals.
Yet, in summary:
. It needed a vote, wasn’t there by default
. It still has a % of people that voted against higher than general population
So “good, but…”
Reposted by Erin Casali
No issue of the Product Picnic this week (due to an overbooked flight, I'm AFB and hadn't brought my computer with me; I don't prewrite the newsletters to keep the content fresh).
Instead, enjoy this single curated link.
Instead, enjoy this single curated link.
“You heard wrong” - users brutually reject Microsoft's "Copilot for work" in Edge and Windows 11
Angry users are telling Windows giant that they’re “not a baby” and don’t need a chatbot “shoved” in their face.
www.windowslatest.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:38 AM
No issue of the Product Picnic this week (due to an overbooked flight, I'm AFB and hadn't brought my computer with me; I don't prewrite the newsletters to keep the content fresh).
Instead, enjoy this single curated link.
Instead, enjoy this single curated link.
“This applies to work-managed devices and doesn’t affect personal devices”
Means:
This builds the surveillance infrastructure soon to be made available to anyone with the power, money, or ability to access it.
Means:
This builds the surveillance infrastructure soon to be made available to anyone with the power, money, or ability to access it.
Normal and great
> Microsoft triggered a viral furor when it revealed a Teams update to tell your company when you’re not at work. Now Google has done the same. Forget end-to-end encryption. A new Android update means your RCS and SMS texts are no longer private.
www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...
> Microsoft triggered a viral furor when it revealed a Teams update to tell your company when you’re not at work. Now Google has done the same. Forget end-to-end encryption. A new Android update means your RCS and SMS texts are no longer private.
www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...
Google Starts Sharing All Your Text Messages With Your Employer
Warning — what happens on your Android phone, doesn’t stay on your Android phone.
www.forbes.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:19 PM
“This applies to work-managed devices and doesn’t affect personal devices”
Means:
This builds the surveillance infrastructure soon to be made available to anyone with the power, money, or ability to access it.
Means:
This builds the surveillance infrastructure soon to be made available to anyone with the power, money, or ability to access it.
Reposted by Erin Casali
Enshittification is fundamentally a loss of design.
That’s of course a simplified way to put this, it’s a complex problem, but it’s one piece of the game.
The design discourse had a peak and then got gobbled up by capitalistic growth hacking that found good UX not being good enough anymore.
That’s of course a simplified way to put this, it’s a complex problem, but it’s one piece of the game.
The design discourse had a peak and then got gobbled up by capitalistic growth hacking that found good UX not being good enough anymore.
November 30, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Enshittification is fundamentally a loss of design.
That’s of course a simplified way to put this, it’s a complex problem, but it’s one piece of the game.
The design discourse had a peak and then got gobbled up by capitalistic growth hacking that found good UX not being good enough anymore.
That’s of course a simplified way to put this, it’s a complex problem, but it’s one piece of the game.
The design discourse had a peak and then got gobbled up by capitalistic growth hacking that found good UX not being good enough anymore.
Reposted by Erin Casali
Years ago, my colleagues at Business Insider and I tracked YouTuber “cancellation” arcs. What we found is that for many entertainers, “cancellation” actually sets the stage for a redemption arc, one that can raise their profile higher than ever. It wasn’t career-ending. It was fuel.
November 29, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Years ago, my colleagues at Business Insider and I tracked YouTuber “cancellation” arcs. What we found is that for many entertainers, “cancellation” actually sets the stage for a redemption arc, one that can raise their profile higher than ever. It wasn’t career-ending. It was fuel.
Reposted by Erin Casali
My AI anecdote is that I’m writing a story script for a high profile IP project featuring a virtual assistant and received the note: “don’t use the word ‘AI’ in the script because the word is toxic now, plus people will assume it’s giving bad info or evil.”
my “AI is over” anecdote is that my wife was hired over the summer to write scripts for a big tech company explaining how to use their AI tools and after many rounds of revisions, the latest notes said “we’re finding a lot of AI fatigue among our users” and to remove all references to AI
Anecdotally on twitter seeing a big shift the last few days from every AI slop account saying every other creative field is “over” and they’re in control now to now posting about how nobody likes them and it’s not fair and they’ll persevere and real artists respect and uplift eachother
November 30, 2025 at 12:59 AM
My AI anecdote is that I’m writing a story script for a high profile IP project featuring a virtual assistant and received the note: “don’t use the word ‘AI’ in the script because the word is toxic now, plus people will assume it’s giving bad info or evil.”
Reposted by Erin Casali
November 30, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by Erin Casali
I suggest that we start using the phrase "Mr. Beast and the CEO of Salesforce will be there too." as shorthand to explain how little we want to be at any given terrible event.
November 29, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I suggest that we start using the phrase "Mr. Beast and the CEO of Salesforce will be there too." as shorthand to explain how little we want to be at any given terrible event.
Reposted by Erin Casali
Shit flows downhill. When you're an executive, your outputs become someone else's problem. When you're doing the implementation, the gap in every half-assed idea and slipshod assumption becomes visible & it's your responsibility to fix it.
A new global study shows that AI adoption varies by seniority, with 87% of executives using it on the job, compared with 57% of managers and 27% of employees. It also finds that executives are 45% more likely to use the technology on the job than Gen Zers …
Execs are embracing AI more than their employees are, new research suggests
Research from HR software company Dayforce suggests that executives are leaning into AI far more than their employees.
www.businessinsider.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Shit flows downhill. When you're an executive, your outputs become someone else's problem. When you're doing the implementation, the gap in every half-assed idea and slipshod assumption becomes visible & it's your responsibility to fix it.
If executives have a bias because they see GenAI working for them, it also means that executive jobs are the ones that are most easily replaced by GenAI, not everyone else. Right?
This has three implications.
(1) Most exec will grossly overestimate the broad utility and efficacy of AI because of confirmation bias.
Its good for them, so must be good for everyone. They will only listen to evidence that validates THEIR experiences
(1) Most exec will grossly overestimate the broad utility and efficacy of AI because of confirmation bias.
Its good for them, so must be good for everyone. They will only listen to evidence that validates THEIR experiences
November 30, 2025 at 10:33 AM
If executives have a bias because they see GenAI working for them, it also means that executive jobs are the ones that are most easily replaced by GenAI, not everyone else. Right?
The AI fanatics (Altman, Musk, etc) have convinced themselves of a variation, which is more terrifying:
AI Corp: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi nove Don’t Create The Torment Nexus, so we are the ethical ones in control before a bad company does and unleashes it.
AI Corp: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi nove Don’t Create The Torment Nexus, so we are the ethical ones in control before a bad company does and unleashes it.
November 30, 2025 at 10:30 AM
The AI fanatics (Altman, Musk, etc) have convinced themselves of a variation, which is more terrifying:
AI Corp: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi nove Don’t Create The Torment Nexus, so we are the ethical ones in control before a bad company does and unleashes it.
AI Corp: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi nove Don’t Create The Torment Nexus, so we are the ethical ones in control before a bad company does and unleashes it.
Reposted by Erin Casali
I am once again telling everyone to get the fuck off Substack leavesubstack.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I am once again telling everyone to get the fuck off Substack leavesubstack.com
Executive: “AI is making you 20% more productive!”
Employee: “You are forcing us to work 40% more hours tho?”
Executive: “AI is amazing! More layoffs!”
Employee: “You are forcing us to work 40% more hours tho?”
Executive: “AI is amazing! More layoffs!”
I’d love tech CEOs to stick to a lane. Either AI makes workers so much more productive that they need to do layoffs or there’s so few workers in place that everyone needs to work nights and weekends.
Now it just seems layoffs are happening for economic reasons with AI as a convenient cover story.
Now it just seems layoffs are happening for economic reasons with AI as a convenient cover story.
November 29, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Executive: “AI is making you 20% more productive!”
Employee: “You are forcing us to work 40% more hours tho?”
Executive: “AI is amazing! More layoffs!”
Employee: “You are forcing us to work 40% more hours tho?”
Executive: “AI is amazing! More layoffs!”
Reposted by Erin Casali
Alexa, play music!
November 25, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Alexa, play music!
Reposted by Erin Casali
This blog post by Helen Toner (well-known by some for a stint on the OpenAI board) is *really really* interesting because it is the first thing I've read by someone in Frontier AI that starts to get to grips with sociotechnical concerns open.substack.com/pub/helenton...
Taking Jaggedness Seriously
Why we should expect AI capabilities to keep being extremely uneven, and why that matters
open.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 6:32 AM
This blog post by Helen Toner (well-known by some for a stint on the OpenAI board) is *really really* interesting because it is the first thing I've read by someone in Frontier AI that starts to get to grips with sociotechnical concerns open.substack.com/pub/helenton...
Reposted by Erin Casali
1/🧵 My friends in Hong Kong are furious about reports suggesting that bamboo scaffolding contributed to the massive fire there. One of them, a well-connected lobbyist, has even been messaging journalists to request corrections and has publicly called the coverage orientalist.
November 28, 2025 at 10:38 AM
1/🧵 My friends in Hong Kong are furious about reports suggesting that bamboo scaffolding contributed to the massive fire there. One of them, a well-connected lobbyist, has even been messaging journalists to request corrections and has publicly called the coverage orientalist.
It’s almost like blind hypernationalism and xenophobia is not a good idea ALSO for the very reasons they think it’s a good idea.
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 28, 2025 at 10:52 PM
It’s almost like blind hypernationalism and xenophobia is not a good idea ALSO for the very reasons they think it’s a good idea.