Duncan Davidson

I’m a fan of Satya and hold Microsoft stock.But I’m not a fan of this zero-sum approach to the near future. I may be naïve. But I still believe there’s a positive-sum version of AI disruption—one that values people and builds new leverage for teams, not just balance sheets.

That inversion? It’s the shift from human-driven productivity to AI-driven margins. It’s a vision where profitability can grow—without so many of those messy human costs.

Satya’s memo is polished and clear. It lays out Microsoft’s pivot toward an AI-first future and positions layoffs as an inevitable consequence of reinvention at scale. “For years, the sector has been generous to its employees… AI, however, inverts that relationship.” says Om.

Microsoft lays off ~15,000 people in a year where it reports record profits. Satya Nadella sends a memo framing the pain as necessary and leadership as embracing it early. Om Malik took a closer look: om.co/2025…

One door closes and the next opens. God speed my friend.

A free agent again, for now After over 4 years at Shopify, I’m a free agent again. The AI revolution feels like 1997’s web all over again. It’s time to step back and reflect on what I’ve learned and what’s next.

Almost four and a half years ago in early 2021, I went to work at Shopify. It was one of the best jobs I’ve had. But every tour of duty comes to a close. I’m going to take a few months this summer to really reflect on what I want to take forward with me. duncan.dev/post/free-ag...

Neither do a lot of people. 🤷🏼

AI thinks fast, so think slow It’s useful to treat LLM outputs as System 1 thinking (fast, reflexive, pattern-matching) while you provide System 2 oversight (deliberate, logical). This framework helps maintain thoughtful human jud...

I've found that leaning into Daniel Kahneman’s "Thinking fast and slow" has really improved the way I work with LLMs. It’s all about the mindset you arrive with.
duncan.dev/post/ai-thin...

The art of saying no Claude can create 50 API designs in minutes. ChatGPT can write endless variations. The new superpower isn’t generating work — it’s knowing what to reject. Curation is becoming the primary creative act...

Claude can create 50 API designs in minutes. ChatGPT can write endless variations. The new superpower isn’t generating work — it’s knowing what to reject.

duncan.dev/post/art-of-...

I picked up a new MacBook Pro on recent travels and the model I wanted at the Apple Store had a nano-texture screen. And oh boy, yah. Me like. It’s gooooood.

Especially when enhanced by jet lag.

I type as I walk down a hall very unlike the Severance halls but … oddly disturbing as well.

Maybe a grunge version of Severance.

Empty store interior that was used for decades as a drug store and is now empty

This used to be a Walgreens that i shopped at. Now, i want to shoot a movie here with some sort od fitting plot line of emptiness and a state of being discarded.

Setting up a new personal laptop and digging into @flox.dev to set things up. We’ve been using Nix a lot more at work, but I really like the layer on top of Nix that Flox gives.

Happy to see the Shopify logo up in the Anthropic presentation!

A black and white photograph of a brilliant renaissance man, and all around good human being, James Duncan Davidson looking into the camera.

James Duncan Davidson @duncan.dev In SLC, UT
bryanwjones.com/2025/05/jame...

I wish I’d been in an A seat for this approach. Still, it always brings a smile to my face to see the Bay Area out the window.

Escalator at Munich airport.

What’s up?

Thanks @craigmod.com craigmod.com/books/other_...

Zed — Agentic Editing Collaborate with agents at 120fps in a natively multiplayer IDE.

I’m totally stoked about this: zed.dev/agentic. Yes, Cursor and Windsurf and even using Copilot in VScode are good. But, I’ve got a soft spot for @zed.dev and I’m so happy to see their new agent mode ship. Great agent in a super fast editor. 🎉

You know what I really dislike about GraphQL? All requests look the same in HTTP logs. I really miss not having that when I’m trying to figure out why something something that somebody is doing in their app is blowing up our SaaS provider. (intentionally left vague to protect the guilty)

I think the lesson I’m taking away is that I should accept more invitations to group chats that I don’t recognize. 😳

Plz send again.

Make it bourbon. 🥃

Airplane flying over the Rocky Mountains

And arrive.
Early.
45 mins early.

PS:
I love you Canada.
But I don’t feel the same way about your airlines.

I ended the day in a warm room and a comfy bed with a laptop in my lap. So, success? 😆😀

View out an airplane window of a sunrise. A wing is in the foreground.

Watch the sunrise.

Wake up.
Nothing from first airline.
Incomplete reservation.
So I call again.
And hold.
And pack.
And go back to airport.
Still on hold.
Time to call it.
Check in for my backup.
Drop off bag.
Security.
Coffee.
Exit row to myself.
It’s time to fly.