This is a nice technical account that we're used to seeing from Simon.
I get a kick out of the fact that Microsoft has been preciously clinging to the "Copilot" branding and here comes Claude coming saying "Cowork? Good enough for us!".
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Taking a step back, I really would love to see a broader perspective -- an account of someone who is not tech savvy at all. Someone who works a basic desk job that requires basic competency of microsoft word. I'm so deep into the bubble of AI-adjacent people that I haven't taken stock of how this would or could empower those who are under-skilled.
We've taken it as truth that those who benefit most from AI are high-skilled augmenters, but do others see some lift from it? I'd love if anthropic tried to strap some barely-performing administrative assistants into these harnesses and see if there's a net benefit. For all I know, it's not inconceivable that there be a `rm -rf` catastrophe every other hour.
>Someone who works a basic desk job that requires basic competency of microsoft word.
I dont actually think there many of those people out there. And those that are, are on their way out. There are basically none of those people entering the work force. There are tons of people with that sort of computer literacy but they aren't working on computers.
This predates Cowork, but I have started to see "non-technical" journalists start taking Claude Code seriously recently. For instance, Joe Weisenthal has been writing about this, eg.: https://nitter.net/thestalwart/status/2010512842705735948.
I worry this is gonna cause even more sensitive/privilaged data extrafiltration than currently is happening. And most “normies” won't even notice.
I know the counterargument is people are already putting in company data via ChatGPT. However, that is a conscious decision. This may happen without people even recognizing that they are “spilling the beans”.
I think you're right, but the issue goes deeper. If the productivity gains are real, the incentive to bypass security becomes overwhelming. We are going to see a massive conflict where compliance tries to clamp down, but eventually loses to 'getting work done.'
Even if critics are right that these models are inherently insecure, the market will likely settle for 'optically patched.' If the efficiency gains are there, companies will just accept the residual risk.
For me, I recently wanted to assemble a “supercut” of my videos of attempts at learning to bunny-hop a bike. The tool was able to craft a python script that used ffmpeg to edit out the no-motion portions of the videos and stitch them together.
This would have taken ages to do by hand in iMovie, and probably just as long to look up the needed parameters in ffmpeg, but Claude code got it right in the first try, and worked with me to fine-tune the motion detection threshold.
One rough edge for me: the cowork interface seems to have turned off “extensions” - my first ask was to read some emails and compare with some local documents and draft a document. It kept trying to use claude chrome to navigate to gmail.
I’m not sure what the plan for integrating extensions is here but they definitely will be wanted.
He's a proponent, but that doesn't mean his analysis isn't useful. It's clear and mostly accurate and when he gets something wrong he makes it right. Does he do all that with rose tinted glasses, probably, but my experience reading him is that he's sharp, thoughtful, and entirely reasonable.
Dismissing the opportunity to learn because the person offering you knowledge is enthusiastic about his area of expertise is probably shortsighted.
This is more akin to a race car driver give a review of, for example, a new type of electric car. It doesn’t matter that the driver is not a domain expert in electric motors and regenerative braking; what matters is he knows how to operate these machines in their use case at the limits.
Hearing a programming legend weigh in on the latest programming tool seems entirely completely reasonable.
I don't think they were being dismissive. They just said they were skeptical, which is generally a good thing. It's certainly better than the goofy hero worship I constantly see on HN.
I get a kick out of the fact that Microsoft has been preciously clinging to the "Copilot" branding and here comes Claude coming saying "Cowork? Good enough for us!".
-
Taking a step back, I really would love to see a broader perspective -- an account of someone who is not tech savvy at all. Someone who works a basic desk job that requires basic competency of microsoft word. I'm so deep into the bubble of AI-adjacent people that I haven't taken stock of how this would or could empower those who are under-skilled.
We've taken it as truth that those who benefit most from AI are high-skilled augmenters, but do others see some lift from it? I'd love if anthropic tried to strap some barely-performing administrative assistants into these harnesses and see if there's a net benefit. For all I know, it's not inconceivable that there be a `rm -rf` catastrophe every other hour.
I dont actually think there many of those people out there. And those that are, are on their way out. There are basically none of those people entering the work force. There are tons of people with that sort of computer literacy but they aren't working on computers.
I know the counterargument is people are already putting in company data via ChatGPT. However, that is a conscious decision. This may happen without people even recognizing that they are “spilling the beans”.
> Claude Cowork exfiltrates files https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46622328
Even if critics are right that these models are inherently insecure, the market will likely settle for 'optically patched.' If the efficiency gains are there, companies will just accept the residual risk.
This would have taken ages to do by hand in iMovie, and probably just as long to look up the needed parameters in ffmpeg, but Claude code got it right in the first try, and worked with me to fine-tune the motion detection threshold.
I’m not sure what the plan for integrating extensions is here but they definitely will be wanted.
Dismissing the opportunity to learn because the person offering you knowledge is enthusiastic about his area of expertise is probably shortsighted.
I’m not intending to be dismissive, just noticing a pattern and advocating a bit of skepticism.
Hearing a programming legend weigh in on the latest programming tool seems entirely completely reasonable.