Hacker News: jondlm

New comment by jondlm in "Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society"

jondlm — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 20:40:12 +0000

You're not wrong. I also think it's a trap to think they're in a fundamentally different category than we are. Yes, the blast radius of their harm can be enormous. _And_ they're humans like you and me. Likely hiding deep wounds of their own that are screaming for care-full attention.

New comment by jondlm in "Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society"

jondlm — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 19:30:12 +0000

> I think that CEOs of those companies are ethically challenged people, narcissists and sociopaths.

Likely true in many cases!

> there is no evil emerging in big systems

That's a very definitive statement!

What brings you to the conclusion that there aren't forces at play that we don't yet have a good name for or don't yet have the scientific means to study?

New comment by jondlm in "Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society"

jondlm — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 19:17:44 +0000

I did say "ostensibly" ;)

Agreed that power nearly always corrupts. It does so in often subtle and slow shifts. In general we have a paucity of leaders who wield their power on behalf of the oppressed.

The truth is that the "bad" leaders need powerful help. They need someone to come alongside them and love them into the light of the damage they've caused by drifting into complacency. And I'm not talking about "nice" love here, it might initially look more like shame.

New comment by jondlm in "Only 16 Percent of Americans Think AI Will Have a Positive Impact on Society"

jondlm — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 18:12:22 +0000

This... this... this! This resonates soooo deeply with me.

The wild thing is that these tech "systems" (aka companies) are made up of ostensibly good people. It's often impossible to look at individual people and say, "they're the cause of this damage." I believe that some form of evil (this word feel inadequate) emerges amidst these large systems that is incredibly hard to pinpoint. It's why dissension is so fucking critical. Tech companies continue to profit from the status quo and we need courageous people who disrupt that.

New comment by jondlm in "Compression culture is making you stupid and uninteresting"

jondlm — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 16:51:36 +0000

I loved this article. Thank you for sharing it.

I felt it put words to an experience I wrote about learning to "play" the piano: https://jondlm.github.io/website/blog/the_joy_of_discovery/

Cheers to all of you out there trying to slow down.

Asking better questions with mutation testing

jondlm — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 17:34:12 +0000

Article URL: https://notashelf.dev/posts/on-mutation-testing

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44270476

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by jondlm in "“The Mind in the Wheel” lays out a new foundation for the science of mind"

jondlm — Thu, 15 May 2025 20:28:27 +0000

The topic of this article felt familiar to me. It's similar to ideas in IFS: internal family systems. IFS also uses control systems to describe our internal landscape.

If the concept of multiplicity (we humans being a system of smaller systems) resonates with you, consider reading No Bad Parts by Richard C. Schwartz. I've personally found it immensely helpful.

The Joy of Discovery

jondlm — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 02:10:24 +0000

Article URL: https://jondlm.github.io/website/blog/the_joy_of_discovery/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42232562

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 01:01:12 +0000

Hey Noj! Thanks! I certainly am getting some good rest. Things aren't as bleak as they may appear from my article.

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 00:56:04 +0000

It wasn't.

It's the painful truth of how I felt. I'm not saying it's good. In fact, it's _very bad_.

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 00:53:55 +0000

Thank you for the kind comment :)

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 00:50:13 +0000

I completely agree. I didn't talk about it in the post but I have done a lot of therapy over the last couple years. I'm painfully aware of the ways I've projected my past pain onto my present.

My attempt with the article was to simply reflect how things have felt and leave analysis largely absent. I realize it's left folks with a lot of questions and rightly worried about me.

I'm in a much better place now.

Thank you for taking the time to write this comment.

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 18:20:56 +0000

Thank you for the kind words!

Thankfully I'm not ground down to a nub. I've found a lot of support over the last few years outside of work.

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 18:13:39 +0000

My boss shared first and was very much clear about it being optional.

People bring a lot of context into these conversations and make a lot of assumptions. There is a lot of nuance here and that's tough to sit with.

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 18:10:10 +0000

Your red flags are absolutely merited. I won't deny that.

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 18:08:46 +0000

Sorry to hear you've been burned by sharing.

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 17:29:11 +0000

That's rough. Sorry to hear you were pushed.

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 17:25:38 +0000

This is great. I absolutely agree that the best leaders gently invite and lead with appropriate vulnerability. They also don't mind if people say "no" either with words or body language.

New comment by jondlm in "My Time Working at Stripe"

jondlm — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 17:19:03 +0000

I know I won't be able to convince everyone here, but I didn't feel pressured to share anything deeply personal. Some people on the team didn't. They weren't punished or looked down on. We were a tight-knit team before and after that event.

My Time Working at Stripe

jondlm — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 00:44:42 +0000

Article URL: https://jondlm.github.io/website/blog/leaving_stripe/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42023089

Points: 398

# Comments: 382