The Builder’s Notebook

When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Now that we have AI agents, it's tempting to have them reason through every step of a task.

Full post: https://seanshadmand.com/2026/11/01/what-is-non-determinism-and-when-should-you-use-it/

“If AI can rebuild your product in a weekend, why would anyone pay for it?” I hear this question just about every single day. It sounds like a question about the future of software, but underneath it is an old assumption: that what people buy is the code.

Full post: http://seanshadmand.com/2026/10/22/cheap-code-doesnt-change-what-a-product-is/

I wanted to experiment with animating a logo using agents I already had. The results surprised me.

Full post: http://seanshadmand.com/2026/10/16/a-case-study-in-logo-animation-with-ai/

Mastery begins when you understand why the rules exist, and when they no longer apply. There is a moment in learning almost anything when the rules that helped you become competent start getting in your way.

Full post: http://seanshadmand.com/2026/10/14/knowing-the-rules-free-you-from-them/

Product bloat is often blamed on too many ideas or not enough resources to get speed. More often, it comes from too few decisions catching up with you.

Full post: http://seanshadmand.com/2026/10/14/indecision-does-not-preserve-options/

Look in your pantry. A surprising amount of what we buy is something we could have made ourselves.

Full post: http://seanshadmand.com/2026/10/08/convenience-is-the-product/

AI’s superpower is creating deterministic products. We have become fascinated with AI’s “human-like” level of non-determinism.

Full post: http://seanshadmand.com/2026/10/06/when-determinism-feels-intelligent/

Great visionaries know better than to try. Founders are encouraged to think bigger, dream bigger, and change the world.

Full post: http://seanshadmand.com/2026/07/10/you-cant-build-a-vision/