Rian van der Merwe's bloghttps://elezea.com/https://elezea.com/2026/07/in-the-age-of-ai-esther-perels-relationship-counseling-is-more-necessary-than/https://elezea.com/2026/07/in-the-age-of-ai-esther-perels-relationship-counseling-is-more-necessary-than/As AI relationships become increasingly soothing and frictionless, Esther Perel argues the real challenge isn't sustaining desire but igniting it in an…Wed, 08 Jul 2026 01:31:51 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/07/from-human-in-the-loop-to-human-with-agent-in-the-loop/https://elezea.com/2026/07/from-human-in-the-loop-to-human-with-agent-in-the-loop/Reframe AI assistance as agents joining human-led workflows rather than humans monitoring automated systems, with transparent visibility into agent reasoning.Wed, 08 Jul 2026 01:28:45 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/instead-of-taking-your-job-ai-might-transform-it/https://elezea.com/2026/06/instead-of-taking-your-job-ai-might-transform-it/AI's potential to democratize custom software development echoes the early dream of personal computing that was abandoned when professional applications took…Tue, 30 Jun 2026 23:12:33 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/ai-enthusiasts-are-in-a-race-against-time-ai-skeptics-are-in-a-race-against/https://elezea.com/2026/06/ai-enthusiasts-are-in-a-race-against-time-ai-skeptics-are-in-a-race-against/Both AI enthusiasts and skeptics need to bridge their gap in shared reality to work together on realizing AI's potential while minimizing its costs.Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:21:52 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/social-media-is-now-parasocial-media/https://elezea.com/2026/06/social-media-is-now-parasocial-media/Social media has shifted from genuine friend interaction to a parasocial broadcast medium where we curate ourselves for algorithmic visibility rather than…Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:15:54 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/discogs-mcp-v3-4-0/https://elezea.com/2026/06/discogs-mcp-v3-4-0/Your Discogs wantlist is now first-class in `discogs-mcp`. Browse the records you want but don't own, add one the moment you spot it, and clear it off the list…Sun, 28 Jun 2026 14:47:11 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/work-whiplash/https://elezea.com/2026/06/work-whiplash/Organizational chaos stems from leaders failing to communicate decisions and priority changes to their teams, a gap that closes only with intentional…Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:05:11 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/i-am-dreading-our-llm-written-incident-report-future/https://elezea.com/2026/06/i-am-dreading-our-llm-written-incident-report-future/LLM-generated incident reports pose unique dangers because their plausible-sounding errors lack immediate verification mechanisms that catch problems in code…Sun, 21 Jun 2026 14:06:45 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/what-i-see-in-clinic-is-never-a-set-of-labels-are-we-in-danger-of/https://elezea.com/2026/06/what-i-see-in-clinic-is-never-a-set-of-labels-are-we-in-danger-of/A GP explores whether modern psychiatry risks pathologizing normal human distress by broadening diagnostic criteria and lowering thresholds for mental illness.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 13:51:27 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/the-cult-of-the-enhanced-self/https://elezea.com/2026/06/the-cult-of-the-enhanced-self/A health-obsessed culture paradoxically undermines longevity by prioritizing self-optimization over social connections, the very relationships that most…Sun, 21 Jun 2026 13:25:02 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/discrobble-v1-3-1/https://elezea.com/2026/06/discrobble-v1-3-1/Discrobble is now free to start, with a one-time $4.99 unlock for unlimited scrobbling. If you were already using the app before this change, you keep…Fri, 19 Jun 2026 16:29:07 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/discrobble-v1-2-1/https://elezea.com/2026/06/discrobble-v1-2-1/Discrobble now shows your Discogs rating for every album and lets you set or change it without leaving the app. Open an album, tap a star, and your rating…Fri, 12 Jun 2026 23:05:41 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/do-not-resign-from-life/https://elezea.com/2026/06/do-not-resign-from-life/Sacasas argues that AI's capabilities shouldn't discourage human engagement with thinking, language, and judgment—the very activities that bring us meaning and…Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:10:10 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/06/guidelines-for-respectful-use-of-ai/https://elezea.com/2026/06/guidelines-for-respectful-use-of-ai/Using AI shouldn't mean offloading quality control onto colleagues who review your work.Wed, 03 Jun 2026 23:11:25 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/05/discrobble-v1-2-0/https://elezea.com/2026/05/discrobble-v1-2-0/Your Recently Scrobbled history now syncs across all your devices. Scrobble an album on your iPhone and it's there on your iPad — your recent plays follow you…Sun, 31 May 2026 20:45:54 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/05/we-should-be-more-tired-than-the-model/https://elezea.com/2026/05/we-should-be-more-tired-than-the-model/Vicki Boykis on slowing down agent use on purpose: friction builds your own foundation instead of the model's.Sat, 30 May 2026 16:26:17 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/05/the-great-ai-cost-panic-of-2026/https://elezea.com/2026/05/the-great-ai-cost-panic-of-2026/Current AI cost concerns reflect normal growing pains in technology adoption rather than evidence of fundamental failure.Sat, 30 May 2026 14:57:55 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/05/discrobble-v1-1-0/https://elezea.com/2026/05/discrobble-v1-1-0/Discrobble now runs natively on iPad, with a denser collection grid and a side-by-side album view that puts the cover and tracklist together. This release also…Tue, 26 May 2026 20:30:26 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/05/your-ai-use-is-breaking-my-brain/https://elezea.com/2026/05/your-ai-use-is-breaking-my-brain/Ubiquitous AI-generated text may be subtly reshaping how humans write and think, blurring the line between tool use and cultural conditioning.Sun, 24 May 2026 19:12:11 GMTRian van der Merwehttps://elezea.com/2026/05/llms-and-buttondown/https://elezea.com/2026/05/llms-and-buttondown/Buttondown's explosive growth is being driven by LLMs discovering its API-first design makes it the ideal newsletter platform for AI applications.Sat, 23 May 2026 22:13:05 GMTRian van der Merwe