If you read only one thing about AI/LLMs this week, make it this:
October 13, 2023
If you read only one thing about AI/LLMs this week, make it this: Give me a tweet by v0.dev.
• v0.dev is a design/code tool from Vercel, which uses LLMs to iterate on visual design by creating and evolving the (React + HTML) code behind it.
• Click the link above. What you’re seeing is 24 iterations of a prompt to evolve the appearance of a Tweet. Use the version navigator on the right to go all the way back to v0 and then see how it progresses through to v24.
This (or something like it) will change the way designers and developers collaborate.
• No reading today, just a couple awesome demos — v0.dev stood out to me because it is one of the first LLM tools I’ve seen that could really change the workflow for how we build software.
• As you look through the 24 iterations, you’ll notice some of them are total failures — that’s OK! If the bot misunderstands you, try again — just like you would with a human being. The feedback is immediate, and you won’t waste days of back and forth on Figma comments.
• The other awesome thing about this is that you get the code with each iteration — you can save it, tweak it, rewind and go back to it, etc. And it’s good enough code that you can probably just roll with it when you get to a UX you like. Imagine something like this integrated with Jira, Github, CI/CD pipelines, or even just Vercel itself — it has never been easier to go from raw idea to working prototype.
• Last point, I promise — I saw a great Tweet from March that resurfaced this week, basically saying “All code written before GPT-4 is now a liability”. That is becoming more true every day. Dealing with old code is the most expensive thing your devs will ever do. Producing and testing new code sounds expensive, but is it really? Compared to untangling old spaghetti? This requires a real shift in how tech teams think, and in how product and design teams support them going forward.