‘Sam and Jony skepticism’

I’m glad that Jason Snell blogged about his skepticism toward the OpenAI and io partnership because his feelings almost exactly mirror my own. Personally, I don’t trust Sam Altman any further than I could throw him. But I do trust Jony Ive — so his high regard for Altman has to count for something.

The framing of this as two friends coming together” makes me uncomfortable. It’s like they’re trying to say Sam + Jony is the new Steve + Jony spiritual partnership the world’s been missing without actually saying it.

And yet, I’m glad to see Jony Ive excited about building a tech product again. And it brings me joy that he’s able to continue working with his chosen family of designers. As Snell says:

Never count out Jony Ive and the talented people that surround him. They’ve gotten the band back together, thanks to an enormous investment of AI money, and we’re going to find out–eventually–what they want to put into the world.

The language they’re using certainly frames the product as The Next Big Thing. I hope it really is, because I’d hate to see this team lose credibility in the way Humane — also stacked with ex-Apple talent — did. Theirs is not the roadmap I’d want to see followed.

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