Lighter, Not Faster

digitalseams.com

2 points·bobbiechen··3 comments

There's a new category of product becoming possible as LLMs improve each month. The value prop isn't time savings — it's stress relief.

The self-checkout example is a good illustration of why. It's not faster, but it provides relief. Tools need to be built around human psychology like that.

The flip side is worth thinking about too: some tools, while powerful, actually add anxiety. Especially if they're built promising efficiency, but the user ends up feeling like they're not getting more done, not getting things done faster, or both. The gap between the promise and the felt experience becomes its own source of stress.

What LLM tool are you using to write this comment? It must have been really good to lift the stress of _10 years_ of never commenting?

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html#generated

I’ll use an LLM, often Claude, to tighten up my writing. I have a tendency to use too many words.

I brain dump my candid reaction / thinking, and then I’ll get something to tighten it up. No LLM used for this follow up.

I apologize if my use of Claude to tidy up my thoughts was offensive — here was my unfiltered, original comment:

> There's a new type of product and service that's now possible with LLMs improving each month. The new value prop is shifting from time savings to stress relief.

Tools need to be built around human psychology like the self-checkout example. It's not faster, but it provides relief. Some tools, while powerful, can add anxiety to one's day, especially if it's built promising efficiency, but the user feels like they're not getting more done, getting things done faster, or both.

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