Spiral: Designing an AI Ghostwriter With Taste

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 (x.com/DannyAziz97) wrestled with this question while building the new version of Spiral (writewithspiral.com), an AI writing partner informed by our editorial taste at Every (every.to) that launched yesterday.

The result is a product—and a philosophy—built by the ultimate craftsman who believes you can lean into AI without blunting your edge with slop. We had Danny on AI & I to talk about using AI without losing your craft. We get into the hidden alpha in AI tools that slow you down, how to code with AI without losing your craft, and everything Danny learned about cajoling AI to write well.

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

Links to resources mentioned in the episode:

• Danny Aziz: Danny Aziz (@DannyAziz97) / X (x.com/DannyAziz97)
• Give Spiral a go: Spiral (writewithspiral.com)
• The article Every published about DSPy: I’ve Stopped Writing Prompts—DSPy Does It Better (every.to/also-true-for-humans/i-ve-stopped-wri…)