Hey Weirdos,
Welcome back to the weekly drop. Two new episodes hit this week, and while they tackle the AI revolution from completely different angles, they share one uncomfortable truth: the question was never about what AI can do. It’s about what we choose to do with it.
We’re past the lazy panic of "AI will replace us all." The real problem is much more subtle. One guest argues that while AI makes coding cheaper and faster, it can never be accountable for the final product. The other guest built an entire executive team out of AI, but warns that just because the machine can write your blog post or plan your day, doesn't mean it should.
Both conversations lead to the same conclusion: in a world where the barrier to creation has dropped to zero, the only thing that separates you from the noise is your judgment, your character, and your willingness to stand at the helm.
Let's get into it.
The 15 Steps to Closing a Ticket
What happens when the hardest part of your job suddenly becomes the easiest?
For decades, writing code was the bottleneck. Now, you can vibe-code an MVP in an evening. But as Alex Ponomarev, Founder and CEO of Volt, points out, that’s where the illusion of productivity begins. Alex has spent 25 years in software engineering, and his boutique agency builds AI-native intelligence layers for venture capital firms. He knows exactly what happens when you mistake speed for a finished product.
In this week's first episode, Alex breaks down the reality of modern software development. Closing a ticket requires 15 steps. AI just made one of them faster. The other 14 — staging, backups, deployment practices, architecture review — still exist. And more importantly, the accountability still exists.
Here's what stood out to me from our conversation:
Junior engineers are more valuable than ever. Senior engineers are too busy shipping production systems to try every new framework. Juniors bring the energy and optimism needed to experiment with the tools that drop daily.
The barrier to physical creation is gone. Alex shared a story of a friend with zero coding experience who used AI to build device firmware, started a YouTube channel, and hit 300,000 views in a single day.
The real work is in the review. You aren't typing code anymore, but you are responsible for reading and reviewing everything the AI writes.
Code is cheap. The ability to architect a solution and take responsibility for it when it breaks? That’s where the value is now.
"AI is not responsible or accountable for any upcoming issues, but people still are."
Resources:
A Quick Word on Workflow
If you're a podcaster or a video creator, you know the struggle of trying to edit footage when you'd rather be doing literally anything else. That's why I use Async.
It’s an all-in-one AI video editor that lets you record, edit, generate clips, add subtitles, and even dub your content in over 15 languages. It upscales your footage and repurposes your content for different platforms without ever making you switch tools. I've been using it since day one, and it's a complete powerhouse for creators—especially for people like me who can't edit for shit.
If you want to streamline your workflow and make your editing process painless, check out async.com today.
The AI Grocery Cart Test
Everyone wants an AI assistant. Damien Schreurs built an entire C-suite.
Damien spent 18 years inside the R&D lab of a Fortune 500 tire company, building virtual prototypes with neural networks before most of us even knew what an LLM was. Now, he’s the Explainer-in-Chief of EasyTECH and host of the Macpreneur podcast. And he didn't just build an AI co-CEO — he built a co-CMO and a co-CFO, generating 1,500 euros in less than 10 days just by implementing strategies his AI suggested.
But here is the catch: Damien is adamant that we are asking the wrong questions about AI. In our second episode this week, he argues that just because ChatGPT can write your blog post, doesn't mean it should.
Here are the key takeaways from our deep dive into the ethics of automation:
AI is a brain simulator, not a brain. When people forget that an LLM is just a human dialogue simulator that doesn't actually understand its output, they fall into delusion.
The "Human in the Loop" isn't enough. You don't just need a human in the loop to supervise the AI. You need a human at the helm, actively driving the strategy.
Principles build reputation. Damien once refunded a client for every single session after a mistake, even when he didn't have to. Character is what builds a business, not just capability.
Damien likens it to the grocery cart test. The true measure of a person's character is whether they return the cart to the corral when no one is watching. In the age of AI, the test is whether you choose to do the hard, human work when a machine could easily fake it for you.
“It's not because ChatGPT or Claude or Gemini can write a blog post for you that it should”
Resources:
The Common Thread
Two very different conversations. Two very similar conclusions.
Whether you are building enterprise software or running a solo consulting business, the tools have never been more powerful, and the barrier to entry has never been lower. But that power comes with a cost. When anyone can generate code, copy, or content in seconds, the only thing that truly matters is the human behind the prompt.
Are you accountable for what you build? Are you at the helm, or just in the loop? Are you returning the grocery cart when no one is watching?
What is one task in your daily workflow that you could automate with AI, but deliberately choose to keep human? Hit reply and let me know.
Until next week,
Stay weird.
Cody
The Weird Canadian Podcast drops two new episodes every week. Subscribe on YouTube so you never miss one.