iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #21: I Stopped Reviewing the Code For years I reviewed every line of generated code. I do not anymore. That is not giving up on quality. I stopped reading every line. I did not stop checking. The architecture and the design work upstream are what make it possible. bit.ly/4h8CX3X

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #20: How to Add an AI Agent to an Existing Web App Four days, 100+ files, 13,700 lines. Adding an agent to a mature app with permissions, undo, and real-time sync is a different job than building a chatbot. Eleven points. Notice how little of it is about the model. bit.ly/3SH33l2

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The pawprint apparently didn't work!

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Now that us funny! Conversation with the AI while testing a new AI Agent integration with an enterprise collaboration app.

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #19: Who Wrote This? How much of my code is written by AI? Line by line, 95-99%. But coding is ~20% of shipping a feature. Both numbers are true. They measure different things. Which matters when a client concludes they're paying you for the 1%. Read & subscribe: bit.ly/45kXY4L

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #18: Security Isn't in the 90% Mozilla fixed 423 Firefox security bugs in April 2026. The 2025 monthly average was 21. Firefox is one of the most audited codebases on earth. The bugs were there for 20 years. Nobody could see them, until a frontier model looked. bit.ly/459LFIu

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #17: Code Is Cheap, Shipping Isn't AI coding agents produce 17.3x more code, and 1.3x more shipped software. 100,000 GitHub devs, NBER paper. The gain leaks at review, integration, testing. Code generation was never the slow part. How I try to close the gap: bit.ly/4h0DyoH

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #16: Nothing to FIXME I finished a feature and went looking for the FIXMEs to clean up. There were none, rare for AI-generated code. I used the expensive model for every phase. It went great. Which seems to contradict everything I've said about conserving tokens. bit.ly/3Tiusd1

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

In anticipation Last month we spent a week vacation in Okinawa. I took this reflection shot at the Ishikagi Airport. -- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2026 Peter Thoeny, QualityHDR.com #photography #art #FineArt #monochrome #BlackAndWhite #airport #minimalistic #Okinawa #Japan @bskyphotos.bsky.social

---+ In anticipation
Last month we spent a week vacation in Okinawa. I took this reflection shot at the Ishikagi Airport.
I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a JPG exposure, blended them, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, added some vignetting, and desaturated the image. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.
-- HDR prints - http://bit.ly/qualityHDR
-- Photos look better on Flickr - see large format at http://bit.ly/qHDR
-- ƒ/1.6, 26 mm, 1/120 sec, ISO 32, iPhone 15 Plus, HDR, 1 JPG exposure, IMG_1026_hdrj1bal1pho1-bw.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2026 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #15: Writing for the Scraper I used to answer regex questions on Stack Overflow. I stopped, the humans left. If I answered one today, I'd be writing for the scraper. Will AI hit a wall? Where does the AI learn that v1.7.3 of A breaks with v3.6.12 of B? bit.ly/3T2ckUG

bit.ly

Gen-AI Vibe #15: Writing for the Scraper

I used to answer questions on Stack Overflow.

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #14: The Bottleneck Moved Code is no longer the bottleneck. True, but it's half a sentence. A bottleneck never disappears. It moves. And a randomized trial found developers 19% slower with AI while feeling 24% faster. Why I gain anyway: bit.ly/4fakou0

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #13: Chasing Ikigai I code much less now, mostly delegating to an AI agent. But I love coding. This raised a question: if the machine does the part I get up in the morning for, what am I getting up for? It's Ikigai. And it's darker than the Western version. bit.ly/4eWrxht #VibeCoding

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #12: The One-Person Powerhouse With AI agents I produce like a team of 7-8 engineers. The barrier to starting a business has collapsed, but winning hasn't. The real divide: companies that improve the old model vs. those that rebuild around AI. The bottleneck is mindset. bit.ly/4eqtxPW

Gen-AI Vibe #12: The One-Person Powerhouse

I am one person. With AI agents, I produce like a team of 7 to 8 software engineers. That is not a boast. It's the new baseline, and it changes what a single person or a tiny team can build.

Right now I am testing that idea in practice. Together with my son I am building a new product, a mind-map application called BubbleMap, with almost no resources. Where I am weak (marketing, business development) I get a helping hand from the AI. The barrier to starting something has collapsed.

But the breathless version of this story is wrong. The barrier to starting has collapsed; the barrier to winning has not. In my latest article I dig into the divide a VC acquaintance put well: companies that use AI to improve the existing model versus companies that rebuild the model around AI. The real bottleneck is not technology, or even resources. It is mindset.

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4eqtxPW

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #11: Code Quality & Blast Radius I used to deliver near-zero-bug code. Now the AI writes it, I review 30-80%, productivity is up 10x, and I ship bugs. Agents that delete production databases and plow ahead where a human would hesitate? That's blast radius. Article: bit.ly/4oGuGGI

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

## Gen-AI Vibe #10: Cognitive Offloading New research on AI and thinking: the curve is U-shaped. Scattered AI use (a snippet here, a fix there) is worse than no AI at all. Benefits only kick in when you delegate entire categories of work and reinvest the freed capacity in judgment. bit.ly/4eCP5J2

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

I spend the weekend in Shikoku, an island south east of Osaka. This is a fun bridge to walk over #Japan #Travel #bridge

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #9: Stay Human Loneliness. Bossiness. The yes-man effect. The slow atrophy of analytic muscles. Four quiet shifts I've noticed in myself from spending hours a day with AI agents. None of them are reasons to stop. All of them are reasons to stay aware. Article: bit.ly/4eodRfT

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Life is treating me well. My workplace for the next two weeks at a Shinto priest family in Nagoya, Japan. As a freelancer I am flexible with workplace, all I need is a good internet connection.

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #8: The All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Is Closing Coding with AI is changing from an all-you-can-eat buffet metered use. What this means in practice: which model to use for design vs. implementation vs. testing, why a low-hallucination model is worth paying for. Article: bit.ly/4nTf6Hf

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #7: Don't Make Me Think Steve Krug published a small book called Don't Make Me Think. It is about web usability -- good software should let users accomplish their tasks without too much thinking. I asking the AI agent to use this principle when writing code. Article: bit.ly/4dyYv6L

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #6: When Software Becomes Cheap - AI has collapsed the cost of producing code, the result will be a flood of it. - A race to the bottom that already played out in photography. - AI is democratizing software, especially for open source. Article: bit.ly/43afB5X

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #5: Putting Guardrails on Your AI Teammate The productivity gains are real for software development, but only if you invest in keeping the AI agent aligned with rules. You can learn how to interact with the agent so that it becomes a good teammate. Continue at bit.ly/4esF0Pm

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #4: From Machine Code to English Prompt Generative AI is changing how we write software. The prompt is the code. English has become the new programming language. The barrier to entry is lowered, which is a double-edged sword... Continue at peterthoeny.substack.com/p/gen-ai-vib...

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Would you like learn how to take beautiful photos, and live in the SF Bay Area? You can join us for a Composition in the Field class this Saturday at 11am at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. RSVP at the website. live.digitalphotoacademy.com/portfolio/sa...

live.digitalphotoacademy.com

San Francisco Photo Workshops - Private & Small-Group Classes

Join a Digital Photo Academy teacher for San Francisco photo workshops - small group or private sessions. Different locations each month!

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #3: From Vibe Coding to Production-Grade Code People who never wrote code can now "vibe code" an application in no time. It sounds amazing, until you look under the hood. AI for enterprise software? Yes, if applied methodically. More at: peterthoeny.substack.com/p/gen-ai-vib...

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #2: Lessons Learned Over 9 Months Last summer I started to extensively use Generative AI to write code. First on some smaller projects, then on two big projects that I created from scratch... More on my Substack at peterthoeny.substack.com #GenAI #SoftwareEngineering

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Gen-AI Vibe #1: Context & Productivity Gain In this forum I will share my experience working with generative AI to write code, aka vibe coding. As for context, for the last 9 months I am writing two large code bases with AI assistance, both... More on my Substack at peterthoeny.substack.com

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

SF Bay Area: I'll be exhibiting again at Art Ark Gallery, San Jose. Opening reception: this Fri 6pm-9pm. 40+ artists showcase paintings, sculptures, photos, and more. It is a good opportunity to look for Xmas presents from a variety of art. My topic: Switzerland. #SanJose #SFBay #exhibition

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Tomorrow Sat 10/18 is the big day: No Kings protests will happen in countless locations all across the USA. Participate, stay safe! Find an event near you: www.nokings.org #nokings

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

First time for me: the AI agent is working for me while I sing in the shower.

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Taste the Magic Where Redwoods Witness Forever Promises (details in image ALT) -- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, QualityHDR.com #photography #art #FineArt #night #bokeh #DreamLens #wedding #cake #Saratoga #SanJose #SanFrancisco #California #USA @bskyphotos.bsky.social

Taste the Magic Where Redwoods Witness Forever Promises

We recently attended a friend's wedding in Saratoga, California. The celebration took place at a magical place in the forest. We were surrounded by redwood trees that were decorated in a gazillion lights, perfect for a bokeh shot with the wedding cake.

-- ƒ/0.95, 50 mm, 1/250 sec, ISO 400, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Earlier this year my son spent 3 months in a fellowship at DARPA. Key lesson learned: "Everyone runs as fast as they can at DARPA. From program managers to contractors to IT support, everything is focused and moves with urgency." (see image ALT) #startup #leadership #NPS #DARPA #research

Earlier this year my son Alexis spent 3 months in a fellowship at DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that was the birthplace of ARPANET in 1969, which became the Internet.

Here is a key lesson he learned:

"Everyone runs as fast as they can at DARPA. From program managers to contractors to IT support, everything is focused and moves with urgency."

This resonates a lot with me. I work from tiny startups to large organizations. Startups are able to compete with much bigger organizations precisely because of this. By operating wth a sense of urgency you can move much faster. Take risks, fail fast, improve fast, and if you need, pivot.

- Naval Postgraduate School article: https://bit.ly/4lya9ka
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) call for participation: https://bit.ly/4mDQmkZ
- Video interview: https://bit.ly/3V5LHMg

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Important question to ponder, especially with the current political situation in the USA: Should we be tolerant to intolerant people? Wikipedia article: bit.ly/3HtBCpm #philosophy #tolerance #intolerance #politics

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Karl is Visiting Us Again (see image ALT for details) -- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, QualityHDR.com #photography #art #FineArt #skyline #night #skyscraper #water #city #downtown #SanFrancisco #California #USA @bskyphotos.bsky.social

Karl is Visiting Us Again

San Francisco has a lot of fog in summer, typically creeping in from the sea. I intended to show visitors from Switzerland the San Francisco skyline from Grizzly Peak, a hill above Berkeley, California. Usually you get a nice view from above over San Francisco, the bay, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate. When we arrived after dinner we only could see a few feet. Karl the fog was back. On the way back to the city we stopped at Treasure Island, where we finally had a clear view of the San Francisco skyline. The taller buildings disappeared in the low hanging clouds and fog.

-- ƒ/6.3, 150 mm, 1/15, 1/4, 1 sec, ISO 800, Sony A6000, SEL-55210, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

---+ From Cosmic Event to Biker Hangout (details in image ALT) -- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2024 Peter Thoeny, QualityHDR.com #photography #art #FineArt #restaurant #night #Woodside #RedwoodCity #skyline #SanJose #SanFrancisco #California #USA @bskyphotos.bsky.social

---+ From Cosmic Event to Biker Hangout
I went to a business meetup organized by the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco. On that day Earth was subjected to strong solar winds, which caused auroras way into the continental USA. After the event I drove along the Skyline Boulevard, a road that follows the ridge of the hills that separate the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. After taking some shots of the aurora, I drove home and stopped by Alice's restaurant on the Skyline Boulevard, a popular hangout for motor cyclists in daytime.
-- ƒ/4.0, 50 mm, 0.3, 4, 10, 30 sec, ISO 200, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2024 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Me: "Good, it works now. Time to sleep." AI agent: "Glad to hear it’s all working and looking good now! 😄 Have a great night and restful sleep. If you need more help or want to add features in the future, just reach out." (see image ALT for details) #AI #GenAI #LLM #AgentiveAI

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

Celebrating Swiss Independence Day (see details in image ALT) -- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2024 Peter Thoeny, QualityHDR.com #photography #art #FineArt #person #man #portrait #Swiss #IndependenceDay #Newark #SanJose #California #USA @bskyphotos.bsky.social

Celebrating Swiss Independence Day

Swiss Independence Day is coming up on first of August. The Swiss community living in the San Francisco Bay Area will celebrate the occasion at the Swiss Park in Newark, California, on Sunday, August 2nd. Would you like to join? This candid people shot is from last year's event.

-- ƒ/0.95, 50 mm, 1/1000 sec, ISO 100, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2024 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Witness Transylvania's Most Reliable News Source (see description in image ALT) -- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, QualityHDR.com #photography #art #FineArt #monochrome #BlackAndWhite #portrait #woman #grandma #village #street #Transylvania #Romania @bskyphotos.bsky.social

---+ Witness Transylvania's Most Reliable News Source
During our Transylvania, Romania journey, we stayed at a hotel in Valea Drăganului. At breakfast, we met a Canadian woman who had grown up in the area and returned for a visit. She graciously offered to connect me with an elderly man living in the village for documentary photography. Unfortunately, the gentleman was unwell that day, so our plans didn't materialize. Instead, we strolled through the village streets while the Canadian woman explained that elderly residents enjoy sitting on benches to observe daily life and socialize. We met a spirited 90-year-old grandma dressed in black robes who was quite talkative and amusing. Thankfully, our Canadian acquaintance served as a translator.
-- ƒ/4.0, 135 mm, 1/250 sec, ISO 125, Sony A7 II, Pentax Super Takumar 135mm f/2.5, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography

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Peter Thoeny @peterthoeny.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Journey Through Time in Transylvania (see description in image ALT) -- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, QualityHDR.com #photography #art #FineArt #horse #carriage #farmer #village #street #Transylvania #Romania @bskyphotos.bsky.social

Journey Through Time in Transylvania

On our trip through Transylvania, Romania, we stayed at a B&B in Miercurea Ciuc. We explored nearby villages. It was raining when we passed a horse carriage in the small village of Nădejdea. They are still in use in the countryside.

-- ƒ/7.1, 24 mm, 1/500, 1/2000, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1600, Sony A6400, SEL-P1650, HDR, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2025 Peter Thoeny, @Quality HDR Photography

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