In this episode of Dead Code, Jared chats with Scott Werner, CEO of Sublayer, about his experimental AI web framework, Monkey’s Paw—a Ruby-based tool that uses natural language prompts to generate web pages, embracing LLM “hallucinations” as a creative feature rather than a flaw. Designed to bring back the playful spirit of early Web 2.0, Monkey’s Paw allows developers to prototype ideas quickly and unexpectedly, often resulting in delightful, unintended features like auto-generated tooltips. Scott explains how the project reflects a broader shift toward ephemeral, AI-assisted development and introduces Sublayer, his minimal agent framework built for AI generation. Both Jared and Scott agree that while LLMs may not produce enduring art, they offer fun, whimsy, and new ways to experiment in coding, highlighting how these tools can be valuable outside of pure productivity or profit-driven goals.

Links:

Monkey’s Paw

Sublayer

Artificial Ruby

Works on My Machine (Substack)

Websim

TRICK Competition

Rails Generators

PowerPoint Copilot

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