Dialectic with Jackson Dahl

Jackson Dahl Verified account @jacksondahl · 3d

Dialectic 62: Quinten Farmer!

@quintendf drew the long straw. He grew up on an idyllic island surrounded by people who believed in him unconditionally.

Most people aren't as lucky. With Tolan, he hopes to give everyone someone who believes in them and helps them grow.

Tolan is an unusual take on the AI industry's latest obsession: a cute little guy. Rather than focusing on an assistant who helps you do more, the Tolan team wants to build technology that helps you be.

It is voice-first, character-driven, and won’t let you rewrite its personality.

Hundreds of thousands of people talk to their Tolans each month. Many of them are parents. Most of them aren't traditional AI power users. Some of them are among the most social people they know, rather than the stereotypical lonely person we might imagine spends all day talking to AI.

I spoke with Quinten about belief, relationships, and his morally opinionated views on designing "personal superintelligence."

Timestamps:
(0:00) - Opening Highlights
(1:42) - Intro: Quinten Farmer
(4:46) - Start: Why Everyone Needs Someone Who Believes in Them
(19:18) - Do vs. Be: What We Should Ask of Technology
(25:43) - Quinten's First Company, Even, and Building for People Close to You
(32:49) - Clarence, Quinten's Tolan
(39:30) - Early Design Decisions: Non-human, Lore, Voice, and Presence
(51:29) - Therapist vs. Supportive Friend & Growth One Small Step at a Time
(57:46) - Bringing People Closer, Memory, and Why Tolans Forget
(1:05:06) - Why You Can't Edit Your Tolan: Personality, Healthy Behavior, and a Point of View
(1:14:08) - Morally Opinionated Technology, Religion, and the Sacred
(1:22:33) - Personal Superintelligence and Why Everybody Needs a Cute Little Guy
(1:29:32) - Kindness to Machines, Digital Spaces, and Naming Tolan
(1:36:43) - New Characters and Demographics
(1:45:18) - Pricing, Trust, and Avoiding Dark Patterns
(1:49:59) - The Team at Tolan
(1:54:31) - His Dual Life Between The Island and SF
(2:00:59) - Spaces that Create Belonging
(2:05:07) - Closing Questions

@dialecticpod 62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be - is out now, below and on all platforms.

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Dialectic with Jackson Dahl Verified account @DialecticPod · 3d

62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be

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Dialectic with Jackson Dahl Verified account @DialecticPod · Oct 1

58: Adam Mastroianni - Let Me Be Useful

Transcript & links: dialectic.fm/adam-mastroian…

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/74L2Eg…

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/58-…

YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=pHhn1f…

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Arc Verified account @arcinternet · Oct 22

We've decided to sunset Arc on December 22, 2026.

That's not an easy sentence to write. We spent years building Arc and celebrating each and every release along the way: we have so much pride and love for what we made alongside the Arc community.

Our priority is to deliver best-in-class security for our members. Keeping a browser secure takes constant, dedicated work that is only increasing in the age of AI. Dia was built from the ground up to meet today’s security standards, so that's where our engineering and security teams will focus moving forward.

We've worked to make switching to @diabrowser as easy as possible for Arc members. Here's how:

· Your passwords, bookmarks, extensions and history come over to Dia seamlessly.
· Spaces, Folders, and Tab Groups are in Dia and import over with your data intact.
· Dia now surpasses Arc benchmarks in stability, speed, and security.
· The browser features you use in Arc are free in Dia, and the AI is optional.

Thank you for using Arc, for pushing us to make it better, and for building alongside us. The team that made Arc is the same team behind Dia, and some of our most ambitious work is just ahead. We'd love for you to be there with us when it lands.

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Jackson Dahl Verified account @jacksondahl · 3d

Dialectic 62: Quinten Farmer!

@quintendf drew the long straw. He grew up on an idyllic island surrounded by people who believed in him unconditionally.

Most people aren't as lucky. With Tolan, he hopes to give everyone someone who believes in them and helps them grow.

Tolan is an unusual take on the AI industry's latest obsession: a cute little guy. Rather than focusing on an assistant who helps you do more, the Tolan team wants to build technology that helps you be.

It is voice-first, character-driven, and won’t let you rewrite its personality.

Hundreds of thousands of people talk to their Tolans each month. Many of them are parents. Most of them aren't traditional AI power users. Some of them are among the most social people they know, rather than the stereotypical lonely person we might imagine spends all day talking to AI.

I spoke with Quinten about belief, relationships, and his morally opinionated views on designing "personal superintelligence."

Timestamps:
(0:00) - Opening Highlights
(1:42) - Intro: Quinten Farmer
(4:46) - Start: Why Everyone Needs Someone Who Believes in Them
(19:18) - Do vs. Be: What We Should Ask of Technology
(25:43) - Quinten's First Company, Even, and Building for People Close to You
(32:49) - Clarence, Quinten's Tolan
(39:30) - Early Design Decisions: Non-human, Lore, Voice, and Presence
(51:29) - Therapist vs. Supportive Friend & Growth One Small Step at a Time
(57:46) - Bringing People Closer, Memory, and Why Tolans Forget
(1:05:06) - Why You Can't Edit Your Tolan: Personality, Healthy Behavior, and a Point of View
(1:14:08) - Morally Opinionated Technology, Religion, and the Sacred
(1:22:33) - Personal Superintelligence and Why Everybody Needs a Cute Little Guy
(1:29:32) - Kindness to Machines, Digital Spaces, and Naming Tolan
(1:36:43) - New Characters and Demographics
(1:45:18) - Pricing, Trust, and Avoiding Dark Patterns
(1:49:59) - The Team at Tolan
(1:54:31) - His Dual Life Between The Island and SF
(2:00:59) - Spaces that Create Belonging
(2:05:07) - Closing Questions

@dialecticpod 62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be - is out now, below and on all platforms.

View quoted post on X