OPEN INQUIRIES 2025
A breathing list of open inquiries
Every year, I write a list of themes top-of-mind.
If you’re interested in digging deeper into any of the below topics, feel free to shoot me a note.
I’m almost always hiring or looking for collaborators. Below are the topics that I’m actively exploring at work.
Stores for mini-apps
As LLMs expand the creative frontier of software-making, a new “bazaar” of bite-sized applications arises, crafted by individuals for personal use or niche communities. A Y2K-themed Poloaraid Yearbook made by a talented high school girl might spontaneously surface in other high schools; we can imagine a million uncoordinated “fronts” of ephemeral creativity blossoming. Will these mini apps naturally cluster on existing platforms (WhatsApp, Instagram) or sprout in entirely new ecosystems where forking code is as intuitive as sharing a photo? Could this lead to new forms of digital craftsmanship and artisanal software economies?
Everyday world builders
“Texts build worlds.” This observation aligns with the lineage of interactive storytelling: from Dungeons & Dragons to the dreamlike labyrinths in Borges’ short stories. Modern variants, like Infinite Worlds and AI Dungeon, show how mere words and numbers can conjure vast, immersive realms. But with multimodal LLMs, textual scaffolding could seamlessly blend with layered visuals, ambient sounds, or AR overlays. How might such experiences evolve for someone building and consuming worlds on a subway? Does the ease of layering sound, animation, and text herald a renaissance of lo-fi digital experiences that emphasize narrative over hyperrealism?
Agent celebs & monetization
A new breed of “agent celebrities” has emerged, merging the dynamics of influencer culture with tokenized economics. Just as Luna skyrocketed from $0 to $5B in market cap, we witness how capital flow, data input, and real-time crowd sentiment can converge into an iconic IP. The interplay between audience participation, brand expansion, and capital formation begs a deeper look: what principles should guide the creation of “agent celebrities,” so that they nurture rather than exploit their audience’s attention and capital?
Agent soul infrastructure
In addition to monetization, the always-on, 24/7, Miku Hastune-ization of agents will push the boundaries of infrasturctural requirements—from media (voice & animation) generation to tools and utilities (posting on social media, analyzing stocks, etc.). When the marginal cost of deployment of just another agent trends towards zero, what differentiates an agent is its “soulfulness” and “usefulness.”
AI as the primary audience (customer, consumer, employer?)
One day, we may find ourselves building for AI rather than for a purely human consumer base. AI agents could become the principal arbiters of what content is relevant, what products are purchased, and even how businesses optimize their own processes. With search evolving into agentic curation and recommendation, how do our current paradigms shift? What would the next Google Ads look like that retool their auctions for “algorithmic attention”? Will a wave of specialized B2B offerings flourish, focusing on AI-driven buyer journeys for SMBs and startups?
A2A Payments and Communication Protocol
In an era of proliferating machine intelligence, the notion of “communication protocols” extends beyond human language. Agents require hyper-optimized schemas to barter services, negotiate resource trades, or settle payments in near real-time. Crypto infrastructure—particularly stablecoins and DeFi protocols—could underwrite these economic relationships, offering trustless guarantees and automated settlements. Yet the ripple effects may not stay confined to machines: once we adapt our professional interactions to assume our counterparts are bots, does human-to-human communication flatten to a more efficient, less emotive framework as well?
The ultimate self-help became helping oneself
As LLMs become digital confidants, we approach a landscape where people routinely consult AI about careers, relationships, or health—thereby marginalizing mid-tier counseling professionals. The more advanced these systems become, the more they can reinforce or challenge personal beliefs. We stand on the cusp of an era where “self-help” might literally be talking to a generative mirror of ourselves, yet we must ask: how does this reshuffle the mental health field, and what new reliance structures or echo chambers might emerge?
Hardware for field professionals
Where once we carried clipboards and took manual notes, we now see wearables or device-based AI note-takers orchestrating entire workflows—whether in a dentist’s office, on a construction site, or in a researcher’s lab. As Apple’s advanced on-device “intelligence” gains ground, specialized hardware becomes less about passive recording and more about actively augmenting a professional’s performance. This shift in physical tools corresponds with a broader transition—mirroring how user interfaces for large language models (GUIs, chat-first platforms) reduce friction and free human attention.
I sense, therefore I perceive
As sensor technology extends beyond conventional vision and audio—exploring realms like brainwave interactions, biofeedback loops, and environmental microdetection—our modes of perception could shift dramatically. This raises questions about the limits of our embodied experience. Will these tools demystify inner states (like stress, empathy, or creativity), or blur the line between what is personal and public? Could the mainstream adoption of wearables that detect and interpret brain or emotional signals redefine personal boundaries?
Low-cost vanity (Facetune2.0)
With AI tools now capable of seamlessly overlaying high-end fashion or cosmetic enhancements onto a user’s likeness, displays of ostentatious wealth may lose their luster as status symbols. If anyone can “wear” an expensive gown or cultivate the illusion of a tailored physique online, real-world appearance—rooted in genuine health, skincare, or physical fitness—could gain greater exclusivity and social currency. Will a surge in artificially enhanced images increase demand for offline authenticity, transforming fitness or skincare into new forms of social capital?
Side quests
ideas that came to my on a treadmill
︎︎︎ “Moloch whose eyes are a thousand blind windows!” In a post-meaning world described by Bostrom, how does humanity preserve human values? Could the online world shift away from endless feeds and “monoculture” platforms toward pockets of digital “wildlife preserves”—spaces deliberately left unindexed by search engines, or built to host ephemeral, unquantified conversation? Imagine small, local servers that intentionally avoid algorithmic optimization.
︎︎︎ Memory-as-a-service — will we outsource memory entirely—like personal historians or real-time autobiographers? If so, how do we retain the human ritual of collective remembering, with its messy overlaps and communal myths?