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Spiral: Designing an AI Ghostwriter With Taste

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

Transcript

Chapters

Pins

Spiral: Designing an AI Ghostwriter With Taste

AI & I

2025/10/22
AI & I

AI & I

2025/10/22
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Good writing has always been downstream of good thinking. The average language model can help you write faster—but can it help you think better? Danny Aziz wrestled with this question while building the new version of Spiral, an AI writing partner info...

Highlights

In a world where AI accelerates content creation, the real challenge isn't speed—it's preserving depth and intentionality in writing. This episode explores how AI can be reimagined not as a shortcut, but as a thoughtful collaborator that enhances, rather than replaces, human insight.
01:00
Danny Aziz built the entire Spiral app alone, showcasing exceptional craftsmanship in an AI-assisted era.
05:31
Spiral actively asks for more details, enabling users to go deeper from initial thoughts
08:29
AI should engage in mutual discovery, not just answer prompts
13:49
Writer generated three options with prompting in shared context window
20:32
Rules-based prompting didn't work; letting AI be flexible led to breakthroughs
30:38
Good writing stems from good thinking.
31:57
Good writing and articulation can have a powerful impact
37:48
DSPy performed better than Claude in handling a database migration task.
40:39
Be a craftsman with AI: always evaluate if the output feels right and fits your intent.
45:33
Using AI agents to self-judge writing quality creates a powerful feedback loop for product improvement.
50:58
The final optimized prompt achieved 76.5% accuracy through automated iteration.
1:02:24
Good writing is dynamic, and static AI models become less effective over time.

Chapters

Start
00:00
Introduction
01:00
How Danny used Spiral to prepare for this podcast
05:26
Why slowing down makes AI writing better
08:29
The agents working under the hood for Spiral
13:42
How Spiral helps you explore the canvas of possibilities
14:46
Why Danny pivoted away from the old version of Spiral
24:41
How to use AI without losing your craft
31:51
Danny’s workflow for building Spiral as a solo engineer
34:55
Code with AI while staying in control
40:39
What Danny learned about getting AI to write well
45:26
How Danny used DSPy to give AI taste
47:52
Dan v. AI Dan: Can the machine match the man?
56:16

Transcript

Danny Aziz: Most AI writing is slop. Unless you're spending hours babysitting prompts, you're getting generic output. And when you do put in that effort, you're not writing. You're holding the AI's hand, explaining what you want, re-prompting, guiding it t...