Tinkering
Tings Newsletter #34
If you’re new here: I’m Michael Karnjanaprakorn. I founded Skillshare, Otis and Turing Capital. These days I’m spending my time writing, investing, and trying to not start another company running a one-person company. Every month, I write a newsletter about life, work, and random tings. If someone forwarded this to you, subscribe along with 5k+ others here.
I woke up at 4am to tinker and build. I can’t remember the last time that’s happened. Not to be productive and get a head start on the head, but because I was genuinely excited. I haven’t felt this way about technology since Bitcoin. I’m hooked on Openclaw, a free, open-source autonomous AI agent. I was about to hire a virtual assistant but then this came out. I setup a few workflows, named my agent Igor (he’s my Chief of Staff), and now I can operate as a true one-person team. No interviewing. No managing. Just GSD. I want to see how far I can take this across all my projects.
I had an idea to build a simple productivity coach that checks in each morning and helps me set weekly priorities. The wild part? It took Igor about 5 seconds to build the entire workflow. He even takes tasks off my plate and completes them himself. He improves over time by learning from context and feedback. This is a small example, but others are already using agents to build apps, book trips, and run full business operations. 🤯
Chrys Bader (from Rosebud) argues that apps aren’t dying, but their interfaces are. AI agents don’t care about beautiful design or slick onboarding. They care about speed, cost, and pulling context across every system. That changes everything. Software companies can either go headless, build a truly irreplaceable UI, or move towards agent-to-agent systems. APIs are the product now.
This really got me thinking: how does this change how we define work? What are the first- and second-order effects? Citrini Research published an essay written as if from the year 2028. It was grim, went viral, and even coincided with a market sell-off. They immediately followed it up with a more optimistic take. What’s wild is how much of it already feels real. Block just laid off 4,000 employees, while reporting the best quarter in its history.
If 2026 is the year of the AI agent,
20272026 H2 will be the year of AI memory. Agents are impressive, but intelligence is quickly becoming a commodity. The real unlock happens when memory becomes persistent, portable, and structured. Not just chat history. A durable layer where your preferences, decisions, relationships, and context live over time. Think “memory lockers” that any trusted agent can access with permission. The platforms that win will remember you better, and let that memory compound across everything you do.Been listening to More or Less. Great podcast for hot takes. Where I first heard about OpenClaw, Dead Internet Theory and Narrative Capitalism. In the latest episode they debated what % of engineers in SF will still have a job in a few years. My answer: less than 50%.
Child’s Play is a dark (and funny) look at SF’s tech culture right now. It follows Cluely, a startup built on hype and a product that barely works. The argument: “agency,” not intelligence or skill, is now the most valuable trait in the AI era. The product is almost beside the point. The piece ends on a troubling idea: Silicon Valley is optimizing for motion and attention, not judgment or purpose, and it’s moving very fast without knowing where it’s going.
Betting on prediction markets is a FT job now. This “tax nerd” bet his life savings against DOGE… and won.
“The new American dream is to not live there.” Americans are leaving in record numbers. Not just retirees but families, freelancers, and people in their prime looking for a higher quality of life.
Scott Galloway is making the opposite case: move back to America. Why? Because it’s the responsible thing to do.
Homeschooling is becoming a real business opportunity. In the U.S. alone, the number of homeschooled students has nearly doubled since 2019, with more than 5 million kids now learning at home. Here’s a free business idea if you want to ride this trend.
Forge Prep is designing school for 2040, not 1940. Students learn by doing meaningful work: building real businesses, designing products, and getting 1:1 coaching from working professionals. Rather than traditional tests, progress is measured through real projects and outcomes that connect learning to the real world.
We’ve been playing Sea, Salt and Paper as our go-to quick game. Easy to pack, beautiful artwork, and more fun than Uno.
Scotty Ramon aka Kid Cudi is now an artist. Here’s a private tour of his art studio. I love watching people try something completely new.
My latest lipoprotein(a) update, including progress on drugs in the pipeline.
Colorectal cancer is now the top cause of cancer death in younger people. Get screened. Don’t wait.
Dying for Sex is a powerful show, and it’s not what you expect. It’s about cancer, but it’s about being alive, connection, and what really matters when time is limited. By the end, I was crying like a baby.
In Famous Last Words, Eric Dane leaves a final message to his daughters about facing the end with dignity and courage.
Ending on a funny note, these memes are too good about Marco Rubio running Anthropic.
(I don’t have anything to sell you, so please enjoy this intentionally empty space.)