Dave
@thisisdavekim.com
I (still) believe that we can create a more just and joyful world through design, technology, and community. And a fair bit of luck.
Currently working on Applied AI stuff.
Previously at IDEO, Gates Foundation, and ?What If! Innovation.
Currently working on Applied AI stuff.
Previously at IDEO, Gates Foundation, and ?What If! Innovation.
Thinking about good neighbors and neighborhoods as enduring infrastructure
August 6, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Thinking about good neighbors and neighborhoods as enduring infrastructure
If you ever find yourself stuck, paralyzed by a blank page or intimidated by a blinking cursor, try this.
At the top of the page, address the note to someone you love. I write mine to my two kiddos.
At the top of the page, address the note to someone you love. I write mine to my two kiddos.
August 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM
If you ever find yourself stuck, paralyzed by a blank page or intimidated by a blinking cursor, try this.
At the top of the page, address the note to someone you love. I write mine to my two kiddos.
At the top of the page, address the note to someone you love. I write mine to my two kiddos.
Inevitable. What a sneaky, dangerous word.
It closes off the possibility space and points to a specific (person’s, group’s, ideology’s) version of the future as the only one possible.
It closes off the possibility space and points to a specific (person’s, group’s, ideology’s) version of the future as the only one possible.
April 1, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Inevitable. What a sneaky, dangerous word.
It closes off the possibility space and points to a specific (person’s, group’s, ideology’s) version of the future as the only one possible.
It closes off the possibility space and points to a specific (person’s, group’s, ideology’s) version of the future as the only one possible.
The best people I've met aren't strategy people or execution people. They're both.
So when the cost of building something approaches 0, they go faster, but they're also more generative (and strategic and playful). They aren't just building derivatives of the same thing.
So when the cost of building something approaches 0, they go faster, but they're also more generative (and strategic and playful). They aren't just building derivatives of the same thing.
February 26, 2026 at 5:05 PM
The best people I've met aren't strategy people or execution people. They're both.
So when the cost of building something approaches 0, they go faster, but they're also more generative (and strategic and playful). They aren't just building derivatives of the same thing.
So when the cost of building something approaches 0, they go faster, but they're also more generative (and strategic and playful). They aren't just building derivatives of the same thing.
Whether you call it play, care, dreamweaving, or just giving a damn, how you do something matters.
Great post by @behzod.com on infinite romance.
Great post by @behzod.com on infinite romance.
February 24, 2026 at 12:16 AM
Whether you call it play, care, dreamweaving, or just giving a damn, how you do something matters.
Great post by @behzod.com on infinite romance.
Great post by @behzod.com on infinite romance.
On the imagination crisis and how science fiction can help us think and feel our ways to different ways of being. zoescaman.substack.com/p/the-imagin...
The Imagination Curriculum
A reading list for strategists who want to think dangerously
zoescaman.substack.com
February 23, 2026 at 8:34 PM
On the imagination crisis and how science fiction can help us think and feel our ways to different ways of being. zoescaman.substack.com/p/the-imagin...
What are you optimizing for? What are you playing for?
February 5, 2026 at 7:38 PM
What are you optimizing for? What are you playing for?
Great position to not include ads. Marking this moment. www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
Claude is a space to think | Anthropic
Anthropic explains why Claude will remain ad-free—how advertising incentives conflict with building a genuinely helpful AI assistant users can trust.
www.anthropic.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Great position to not include ads. Marking this moment. www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
Every so often, I wonder what David Graeber would think of this moment. From bullshit jobs to anarchy to play to human ingenuity and more
February 2, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Every so often, I wonder what David Graeber would think of this moment. From bullshit jobs to anarchy to play to human ingenuity and more
If you ever doubted that branding matters, just look at how people are reacting to digital gardens vs personal operating systems.
January 13, 2026 at 2:59 AM
If you ever doubted that branding matters, just look at how people are reacting to digital gardens vs personal operating systems.
After all of the AI-enhanced digital gardens have been set up, will you be wiser? Will you be more kind? Will you have more grace? Will you be more brave? Or is this just another example of dialing in your workshop and never actually making something.
January 12, 2026 at 5:11 AM
After all of the AI-enhanced digital gardens have been set up, will you be wiser? Will you be more kind? Will you have more grace? Will you be more brave? Or is this just another example of dialing in your workshop and never actually making something.
My friend, Vicky, keeps two lists of people.
One list is of people she would love to hire.
The other list is of people she would love as a boss.
If you see that there are people who are on both of your lists, go find them and make some good trouble.
www.thisisdavekim.com/notes/twolis...
One list is of people she would love to hire.
The other list is of people she would love as a boss.
If you see that there are people who are on both of your lists, go find them and make some good trouble.
www.thisisdavekim.com/notes/twolis...
Two Lists
www.thisisdavekim.com
May 20, 2025 at 9:01 PM
My friend, Vicky, keeps two lists of people.
One list is of people she would love to hire.
The other list is of people she would love as a boss.
If you see that there are people who are on both of your lists, go find them and make some good trouble.
www.thisisdavekim.com/notes/twolis...
One list is of people she would love to hire.
The other list is of people she would love as a boss.
If you see that there are people who are on both of your lists, go find them and make some good trouble.
www.thisisdavekim.com/notes/twolis...
Are we in search of country-model fit or will we have a plurality of models in the future?
Some thoughts on that here: www.thisisdavekim.com/notes/countr...
Some thoughts on that here: www.thisisdavekim.com/notes/countr...
In Search of Country-Model Fit
www.thisisdavekim.com
May 14, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Are we in search of country-model fit or will we have a plurality of models in the future?
Some thoughts on that here: www.thisisdavekim.com/notes/countr...
Some thoughts on that here: www.thisisdavekim.com/notes/countr...
We're about to start the fourth season of our giving circle. If you'd like to donate alongside us for this season, give me a shout! We'd love to amplify our impact - and perhaps inspire you to start or join one yourself!
May 7, 2025 at 7:07 PM
We're about to start the fourth season of our giving circle. If you'd like to donate alongside us for this season, give me a shout! We'd love to amplify our impact - and perhaps inspire you to start or join one yourself!
We're developing technology that has so much potential, and we're spending most of our time reinventing B2B SaaS. What is even going on?
Is this because some of the finest* minds of our generation spent a decade optimizing the color of a blue button?
* Caveat, caveat, caveat
Is this because some of the finest* minds of our generation spent a decade optimizing the color of a blue button?
* Caveat, caveat, caveat
May 5, 2025 at 4:14 PM
We're developing technology that has so much potential, and we're spending most of our time reinventing B2B SaaS. What is even going on?
Is this because some of the finest* minds of our generation spent a decade optimizing the color of a blue button?
* Caveat, caveat, caveat
Is this because some of the finest* minds of our generation spent a decade optimizing the color of a blue button?
* Caveat, caveat, caveat
While reading a friend's essay, I added this comment:
Can pixels age? Do pixels have a patina? Can pixels show where the cursor has rubbed against it the most?
Can pixels age? Do pixels have a patina? Can pixels show where the cursor has rubbed against it the most?
April 9, 2025 at 10:02 PM
While reading a friend's essay, I added this comment:
Can pixels age? Do pixels have a patina? Can pixels show where the cursor has rubbed against it the most?
Can pixels age? Do pixels have a patina? Can pixels show where the cursor has rubbed against it the most?
I've been thinking a lot about personal stories recently and stumbled on something Yancey Strickler wrote last year.
"First we live, then we learn, and last we narrate."
The path is rarely clear when you're on it. It's only when we look back at where we've been that we see the common thread.
"First we live, then we learn, and last we narrate."
The path is rarely clear when you're on it. It's only when we look back at where we've been that we see the common thread.
April 2, 2025 at 10:26 PM
I've been thinking a lot about personal stories recently and stumbled on something Yancey Strickler wrote last year.
"First we live, then we learn, and last we narrate."
The path is rarely clear when you're on it. It's only when we look back at where we've been that we see the common thread.
"First we live, then we learn, and last we narrate."
The path is rarely clear when you're on it. It's only when we look back at where we've been that we see the common thread.
We focus so much of our attention on algorithms, but not enough on the design of social networks.
Loved this insight from @randomwalker.bsky.social on what makes TikTok feel so different here: knightcolumbia.org/blog/tiktoks...
Loved this insight from @randomwalker.bsky.social on what makes TikTok feel so different here: knightcolumbia.org/blog/tiktoks...
March 14, 2025 at 12:04 AM
We focus so much of our attention on algorithms, but not enough on the design of social networks.
Loved this insight from @randomwalker.bsky.social on what makes TikTok feel so different here: knightcolumbia.org/blog/tiktoks...
Loved this insight from @randomwalker.bsky.social on what makes TikTok feel so different here: knightcolumbia.org/blog/tiktoks...
I'm in the middle of researching social networks and what it might take for us to go "beyond the feed." It's such a treat to get together with other people and organizations who care deeply about how these social networks can be better and promote healthier and better experiences.
March 14, 2025 at 12:00 AM
I'm in the middle of researching social networks and what it might take for us to go "beyond the feed." It's such a treat to get together with other people and organizations who care deeply about how these social networks can be better and promote healthier and better experiences.
We should normalize bringing your friends to work.
March 12, 2025 at 10:02 PM
We should normalize bringing your friends to work.
The internet is an incredible canvas. Creating an ongoing thread with some found gems here.
March 12, 2025 at 8:56 PM
The internet is an incredible canvas. Creating an ongoing thread with some found gems here.
A beautiful exploration of what multisensorial computing could look and feel like by @wattenberger.com.
She writes:
The future of computing is being designed right now. Can we build something richer—something that moves with us, speaks our language, and molds to our bodies?
She writes:
The future of computing is being designed right now. Can we build something richer—something that moves with us, speaks our language, and molds to our bodies?
wrote up some thoughts on how our interfaces are getting flatter, and how we might design with 💃 our bodies 🤸 in mind.
🧶 went ham on little yarn worlds
wattenberger.com/thoughts/our...
🧶 went ham on little yarn worlds
wattenberger.com/thoughts/our...
March 12, 2025 at 5:57 AM
A beautiful exploration of what multisensorial computing could look and feel like by @wattenberger.com.
She writes:
The future of computing is being designed right now. Can we build something richer—something that moves with us, speaks our language, and molds to our bodies?
She writes:
The future of computing is being designed right now. Can we build something richer—something that moves with us, speaks our language, and molds to our bodies?
It's time for new metaphors.
March 11, 2025 at 6:40 PM
It's time for new metaphors.
Just a monthly reminder that there is a huge opportunity to reimagine how social networks operate. Still early innings (despite the incredible time warp that happens on the internet)
bsky.app/profile/this...
bsky.app/profile/this...
A few things on my mind these days:
Is it reasonable to expect a global advertising network to serve as a digital deliberation platform?
Is it reasonable to expect a direct-to-outrage distribution channel to serve as a global town square?
Is it reasonable to expect a global advertising network to serve as a digital deliberation platform?
Is it reasonable to expect a direct-to-outrage distribution channel to serve as a global town square?
March 6, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Just a monthly reminder that there is a huge opportunity to reimagine how social networks operate. Still early innings (despite the incredible time warp that happens on the internet)
bsky.app/profile/this...
bsky.app/profile/this...
"Weave the world you refuse to allow to be taken away from you."
Just the note that I needed to read on this rainy day. Thanks, @benjaminlowe.bsky.social
Just the note that I needed to read on this rainy day. Thanks, @benjaminlowe.bsky.social
A dear friend of mine asked me: "Ben ... serious question: What the fuck do we do? We ordinary citizens without access to any real levers of power."
I wrote him a lengthy reply which he said he found helpful, so I thought I'd share it here. 🧵 1/
I wrote him a lengthy reply which he said he found helpful, so I thought I'd share it here. 🧵 1/
March 4, 2025 at 8:23 PM
"Weave the world you refuse to allow to be taken away from you."
Just the note that I needed to read on this rainy day. Thanks, @benjaminlowe.bsky.social
Just the note that I needed to read on this rainy day. Thanks, @benjaminlowe.bsky.social