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David Heinemeier Hansson

David Heinemeier Hansson

@dhh · 724 positions · 10 changes of mind · On ppll ↗

Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals, and creator of Omarchy.

David Heinemeier Hansson did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

The ideas David Heinemeier Hansson's claims keep coming back to. The labels are ours; every quote is David Heinemeier Hansson's own words.

Holds now (7)

Held before (1)

See how these views changed over time, 2021–2026
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2021 2 views
First seen · 2 claims Platform gatekeepers abuse monopoly power, and people should run what they like on their own computers
First seen · 1 claim People need struggle, purpose and constraint; total freedom and leisure do not make them happy
2022 +3 new
Still held · 2 claims Platform gatekeepers abuse monopoly power, and people should run what they like on their own computers
Still held · 1 claim People need struggle, purpose and constraint; total freedom and leisure do not make them happy
New · 2 claims Renting from the cloud is mostly a bad deal; owning hardware costs less and is no harder
New · 7 claims Companies and workplaces work better without politics, and speech should be defended even when repugnant
New · 1 claim Small teams with few tools and no outside money outbuild large, venture-funded ones
2023 1 quiet
QuietPlatform gatekeepers abuse monopoly power, and people should run what they like on their own computers
Why
Nothing on this in 2023 in our sources. Last said 14 Dec 2022: The EU just might make Apple lovable again by outlawing their monopolistic excessesBack in 2024–25
Still held · 5 claims People need struggle, purpose and constraint; total freedom and leisure do not make them happy
Still held · 7 claims Renting from the cloud is mostly a bad deal; owning hardware costs less and is no harder
Still held · 1 claim Companies and workplaces work better without politics, and speech should be defended even when repugnant
Still held · 1 claim Small teams with few tools and no outside money outbuild large, venture-funded ones
2024–25 +3 new · 1 back
Back · 7 claims Platform gatekeepers abuse monopoly power, and people should run what they like on their own computers
Still held · 5 claims People need struggle, purpose and constraint; total freedom and leisure do not make them happy
Still held · 3 claims Renting from the cloud is mostly a bad deal; owning hardware costs less and is no harder
Still held · 2 claims Companies and workplaces work better without politics, and speech should be defended even when repugnant
Still held · 6 claims Small teams with few tools and no outside money outbuild large, venture-funded ones
New · 8 claims Who comes in is a country's own decision, and mass immigration has harmed Europe
New · 3 claims Programmers should write the code themselves; AI helps but does not drive
New · 3 claims Coding agents have changed programming, and the scarce skills left are judgment, taste and product sense
2026 1 dropped · 2 revised · 1 quiet
Still held · 1 claim Platform gatekeepers abuse monopoly power, and people should run what they like on their own computers
Still held · 1 claim People need struggle, purpose and constraint; total freedom and leisure do not make them happy
QuietRenting from the cloud is mostly a bad deal; owning hardware costs less and is no harder
Why
Nothing on this in 2026 in our sources. Last said 12 Jul 2025: The cloud pitch of easier, cheaper, faster is false on two counts: it is not easier and not cheaper, and the speed that is real is overvalued.Not said since
Still held · 2 claims Companies and workplaces work better without politics, and speech should be defended even when repugnant
Revised · 3 claims Small teams with few tools and no outside money outbuild large, venture-funded ones
Why
No longer holds (26 Aug 2026): Entrepreneurs do not need grand ambitions; a modest, sufficient goal is enough.
Still held · 3 claims Who comes in is a country's own decision, and mass immigration has harmed Europe
DroppedProgrammers should write the code themselves; AI helps but does not drive
Why
No longer holds (8 Apr 2026): AI is welcome as a better search engine and a pair programmer that does not drive, but writing the code itself is not something to hand over to it.No longer holds (8 Apr 2026): The joy of a programmer is to type the code himself; promoting yourself out of that makes you a project manager of a murder of AI crows.No longer holds (26 Aug 2026): The ideas in software originate with humans; agents build what people tell them to build.
Revised · 13 claims Coding agents have changed programming, and the scarce skills left are judgment, taste and product sense
Why
No longer holds (26 Aug 2026): An open-weight model is already all anyone needs; it is as good as the frontier models.No longer holds (26 Aug 2026): Opus is the best frontier model, and the one to start with.

Each column is a stretch of time in which the same views came up; a new column starts when one appears or goes quiet. Quiet means nothing on it in our sources for that stretch, which is not the same as a change of mind; Dropped means they said they no longer hold it; tap the card for which claim and when. Revised means the view carries on but one of its claims was dropped. Each row is one view, in the same place all the way along. The number is how many claims in that stretch; we hold 58 in 2021, 122 in 2022, 125 in 2023, 115 in 2024, 152 in 2025, 197 in 2026.

Small teams with few tools and no outside money outbuild large, venture-funded ones

Our label. 11 claims in David Heinemeier Hansson's own words.

The default team is two people, one programmer and one designer, on one feature; at that size you can just do instead of plan.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals our default team size is two. One programmer, one designer, one feature. When you're operating at that level of scale, you don't need sophistication. You don't need advanced methodologies. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com · 12 Jul 2025 · 2:35:00 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsour default team size is two. One programmer, one designer, one feature. When you're operating at that level of scale, you don't need sophistication. You don't need advanced methodologies.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 2:35:00 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com

    12 Jul 2025 · video · 6h 08m · spoken · official transcript

A thousand programmers build the kind of software a thousand people build; Basecamp could never come out of that, and the breakthroughs come from individuals and tiny teams.

Mental modelConway's law

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals You cannot produce the kind of software that Basecamp is with a team of a thousand people. You will build the kind of software that a thousand people builds. And that's not the same thing at all. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com · 12 Jul 2025 · 2:33:57 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsYou cannot produce the kind of software that Basecamp is with a team of a thousand people. You will build the kind of software that a thousand people builds. And that's not the same thing at all.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 2:33:57 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com

    12 Jul 2025 · video · 6h 08m · spoken · official transcript

Venture money ruins software: raise a fortune, hire hundreds, and crap comes out, because the funnel that forces hard choices is gone.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals This was one of the reasons why I was always so skeptical about venture capital when it came to software. Because I saw time and again people raise an enormous amount of money, hire hundreds of people, and produce crap software. DHH: How to Build a Profitable Company Without Losing Controlyoutube.com · 26 Jul 2026 · 0:12:16 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsThis was one of the reasons why I was always so skeptical about venture capital when it came to software. Because I saw time and again people raise an enormous amount of money, hire hundreds of people, and produce crap software.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:12:16 plays here

    ↗DHH: How to Build a Profitable Company Without Losing Controlyoutube.com

    26 Jul 2026 · video · 1h 41m · spoken · machine transcript

The way to stay small is never to take other people's money: the moment you do, they want the largest return, and the enterprise playbook follows.

Mental modelIncentives

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Because the problem isn't just venture capital, it's other people's money. Once you take other people's money, completely understandably, they want a return and they would prefer to have the largest return possible. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com · 12 Jul 2025 · 2:39:07 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsBecause the problem isn't just venture capital, it's other people's money. Once you take other people's money, completely understandably, they want a return and they would prefer to have the largest return possible.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 2:39:07 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com

    12 Jul 2025 · video · 6h 08m · spoken · official transcript

The competitive threat to a small software company is a team of two or four working under the same constraints, never the behemoth.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals I'm worried, and still am, about a team of two, about a team of four, because they will produce software that's competitive with ours because it comes out of the same constraints. And therefore, our threat doesn't come from the behemoth. DHH: How to Build a Profitable Company Without Losing Controlyoutube.com · 26 Jul 2026 · 0:07:43 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsI'm worried, and still am, about a team of two, about a team of four, because they will produce software that's competitive with ours because it comes out of the same constraints. And therefore, our threat doesn't come from the behemoth.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:07:43 plays here

    ↗DHH: How to Build a Profitable Company Without Losing Controlyoutube.com

    26 Jul 2026 · video · 1h 41m · spoken · machine transcript

Small teams should remove all unnecessary complexity

Mental modelLess, but better

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Never aspire to a more complicated stack than what your application calls for We're moving continuous integration back to developer machinesworld.hey.com · 29 Apr 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsNever aspire to a more complicated stack than what your application calls for

    ↗We're moving continuous integration back to developer machinesworld.hey.com

    29 Apr 2024

Bullshit jobs are more likely to proliferate in big companies than in small ones

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals That these bullshit jobs that rot the hearts and minds of workers are far more likely to proliferate in big companies than in small ones Bullshit jobs hide more easily in big companiesworld.hey.com · 24 May 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThat these bullshit jobs that rot the hearts and minds of workers are far more likely to proliferate in big companies than in small ones

    ↗Bullshit jobs hide more easily in big companiesworld.hey.com

    24 May 2022

Engineering managers are a necessary evil for when things break down; 37signals tried them for two years and went back to leaving programmers alone.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals And after that I thought like, no, no, I was right. This was correct. We should not have had managers. Not every programmer needs a therapy session with an engineering manager every week. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com · 12 Jul 2025 · 2:24:20 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsAnd after that I thought like, no, no, I was right. This was correct. We should not have had managers. Not every programmer needs a therapy session with an engineering manager every week.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 2:24:20 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com

    12 Jul 2025 · video · 6h 08m · spoken · official transcript

Renting from the cloud is mostly a bad deal; owning hardware costs less and is no harder

Our label. 12 claims in David Heinemeier Hansson's own words.

Leaving the cloud for owned hardware cut 37signals' annual infrastructure bill from $3.2M to $1.3M without growing the operations team.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals For 2024, we've brought the cloud bill down from the original $3.2 million/year run rate to $1.3 million. That's a saving of almost two million dollars per year for our setup! Our cloud-exit savings will now top ten million over five yearsworld.hey.com · 17 Oct 2024
    Their wordsFor 2024, we've brought the cloud bill down from the original $3.2 million/year run rate to $1.3 million. That's a saving of almost two million dollars per year for our setup!

    ↗Our cloud-exit savings will now top ten million over five yearsworld.hey.com

    17 Oct 2024

The cloud pitch of easier, cheaper, faster is false on two counts: it is not easier and not cheaper, and the speed that is real is overvalued.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals It's not easier to use AWS than it is to run your own machines, which we learned when we pulled out the cloud and didn't hire a single extra person. Even though we operate all our own hardware, the team stayed exactly the same. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com · 12 Jul 2025 · 3:20:32 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsIt's not easier to use AWS than it is to run your own machines, which we learned when we pulled out the cloud and didn't hire a single extra person. Even though we operate all our own hardware, the team stayed exactly the same.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 3:20:32 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com

    12 Jul 2025 · video · 6h 08m · spoken · official transcript

Most SaaS businesses of our size and above should own their infrastructure rather than rent it

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals But hiring managers is hard! Much harder than hiring individual contributors who can be evaluated in large part on the strength of their individual work. It's harder hiring managersworld.hey.com · 6 Jan 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsBut hiring managers is hard! Much harder than hiring individual contributors who can be evaluated in large part on the strength of their individual work.

    ↗It's harder hiring managersworld.hey.com

    6 Jan 2022

Renting computers from a cloud provider is mostly a bad deal for medium-sized companies with stable growth.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals It's finally time to conclude: Renting computers is (mostly) a bad deal for medium-sized companies like ours with stable growth. Why we're leaving the cloudworld.hey.com · 19 Oct 2022
    Their wordsIt's finally time to conclude: Renting computers is (mostly) a bad deal for medium-sized companies like ours with stable growth.

    ↗Why we're leaving the cloudworld.hey.com

    19 Oct 2022

Not using own servers is financial malpractice for mid-sized SaaS businesses

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Any mid-sized SaaS business and above with stable work loads that does not benchmark their rental bill for servers in the cloud against buying their own boxes is committing financial malpractice at this point We stand to save $7m over five years from our cloud exitworld.hey.com · 21 Feb 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsAny mid-sized SaaS business and above with stable work loads that does not benchmark their rental bill for servers in the cloud against buying their own boxes is committing financial malpractice at this point

    ↗We stand to save $7m over five years from our cloud exitworld.hey.com

    21 Feb 2023

The cloud is often just as complicated as running things yourself, and it's usually ridiculously more expensive

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals The cloud is often just as complicated as running things yourself, and it's usually ridiculously more expensive We have left the cloudworld.hey.com · 23 Jun 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe cloud is often just as complicated as running things yourself, and it's usually ridiculously more expensive

    ↗We have left the cloudworld.hey.com

    23 Jun 2023

Running a business on owned hardware is not more work than running it on the cloud

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Because running things on premise is not a materially different scope of work from running it in the cloud The price of managed cloud servicesworld.hey.com · 16 Oct 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsBecause running things on premise is not a materially different scope of work from running it in the cloud

    ↗The price of managed cloud servicesworld.hey.com

    16 Oct 2023

Getting out of the cloud is not as hard as getting in

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals I imagined getting out of the cloud was going to be as hard as getting in. But that just hasn't proven to be the case The hardware we need for our cloud exit has arrivedworld.hey.com · 6 Apr 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsI imagined getting out of the cloud was going to be as hard as getting in. But that just hasn't proven to be the case

    ↗The hardware we need for our cloud exit has arrivedworld.hey.com

    6 Apr 2023

Egress fees are an impediment for companies to leave the cloud

Mental modelLock-in and switching costs

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals The absurd egress fees charged by major hyperscalers have been one of the biggest impediments for companies to leave the cloud Google Cloud cuts egress and promotes cloud exitsworld.hey.com · 11 Jan 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe absurd egress fees charged by major hyperscalers have been one of the biggest impediments for companies to leave the cloud

    ↗Google Cloud cuts egress and promotes cloud exitsworld.hey.com

    11 Jan 2024

Companies should cut cloud costs before cutting staff

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals I urge any of the founders and executives looking at their budgets right now wondering where to trim the fat to focus on the cloud spend first Cut cloud before payrollworld.hey.com · 23 Mar 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsI urge any of the founders and executives looking at their budgets right now wondering where to trim the fat to focus on the cloud spend first

    ↗Cut cloud before payrollworld.hey.com

    23 Mar 2023

Most established companies should reconsider the cloud

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals most established companies that can amortize capital investments over a few years should seriously reconsider the cloud craze We have left the cloudworld.hey.com · 23 Jun 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsmost established companies that can amortize capital investments over a few years should seriously reconsider the cloud craze

    ↗We have left the cloudworld.hey.com

    23 Jun 2023

Platform gatekeepers abuse monopoly power, and people should run what they like on their own computers

Our label. 12 claims in David Heinemeier Hansson's own words.

Apple's 30% tax on developers is unfair

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals How is it fair that billion-dollar companies that use thousands of times more of Apple's App Store infrastructure get away with paying $99/year, while a mid-sized software company making $10m/year has to pay $3m? Testimony before the Arizona House of Representativesworld.hey.com · 22 Feb 2021All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsHow is it fair that billion-dollar companies that use thousands of times more of Apple's App Store infrastructure get away with paying $99/year, while a mid-sized software company making $10m/year has to pay $3m?

    ↗Testimony before the Arizona House of Representativesworld.hey.com

    22 Feb 2021

Apple's app store monopoly is ruled by no standard of law

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals there is no rule of law with the app stores, except that of the jungle, and Apple is the 800 lbs gorilla, ruling as it sees fit Apple rejects the HEY Calendar from their App Storeworld.hey.com · 5 Jan 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsthere is no rule of law with the app stores, except that of the jungle, and Apple is the 800 lbs gorilla, ruling as it sees fit

    ↗Apple rejects the HEY Calendar from their App Storeworld.hey.com

    5 Jan 2024

The App Store toll booth let a rot into Apple's foundations: money for taking 30% of other people's business without making anything.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals But as Apple discovered the gold mine, it is to operate a toll booth where you don't have to innovate, where you don't actually even have to make anything, where you can just take 30% of other people's business. There was a rot that crept into the foundation of Apple and that started all the way back from the initial launch of the app store. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com · 12 Jul 2025 · 3:46:31 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsBut as Apple discovered the gold mine, it is to operate a toll booth where you don't have to innovate, where you don't actually even have to make anything, where you can just take 30% of other people's business. There was a rot that crept into the foundation of Apple and that started all the way back from the initial launch of the app store.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 3:46:31 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com

    12 Jul 2025 · video · 6h 08m · spoken · official transcript

The Mac is two small hops from being as locked down as the iPhone, where Apple decides which software you may run on a computer you own.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals you can see like we're about two little bunny hops away from having a computer that's so locked down that I don't get to run the software of my own choice. DHH discusses Linux and Omarchyyoutube.com · 1 Jul 2025 · 18:46 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsyou can see like we're about two little bunny hops away from having a computer that's so locked down that I don't get to run the software of my own choice.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 18:46 plays here

    ↗DHH discusses Linux and Omarchyyoutube.com

    1 Jul 2025 · video · 46m · spoken · machine transcript

The one thread through his whole career is a loathing of asking anyone for permission; open source, the internet and Linux are all ways around a gatekeeper.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals And if there's a one thread that goes through my entire career, it's just an absolute loathing of asking anyone for permission about anything. DHH discusses Linux and Omarchyyoutube.com · 1 Jul 2025 · 31:50 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsAnd if there's a one thread that goes through my entire career, it's just an absolute loathing of asking anyone for permission about anything.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 31:50 plays here

    ↗DHH discusses Linux and Omarchyyoutube.com

    1 Jul 2025 · video · 46m · spoken · machine transcript

An operating system should put its users on the same level as its maker: no two-tier system where the vendor makes the real thing and you patch around it.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals There's not this two-tier system where, well, there's Apple or Windows and they make the real thing and then you can try to hack or patch your little thing around it and it's going to look second tier, it always does. Is Linux the perfect operating system? - Omarchy interview with DHHyoutube.com · 25 Aug 2026 · 9:21 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsThere's not this two-tier system where, well, there's Apple or Windows and they make the real thing and then you can try to hack or patch your little thing around it and it's going to look second tier, it always does.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 9:21 plays here

    ↗Is Linux the perfect operating system? - Omarchy interview with DHHyoutube.com

    25 Aug 2026 · video · 37m · spoken · machine transcript

The EU just might make Apple lovable again by outlawing their monopolistic excesses

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals The EU just might make Apple lovable again by outlawing their monopolistic excesses Apple's big monopoly loss comes curtesy of the EUworld.hey.com · 14 Dec 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe EU just might make Apple lovable again by outlawing their monopolistic excesses

    ↗Apple's big monopoly loss comes curtesy of the EUworld.hey.com

    14 Dec 2022

Apple's turn to services, taking a cut of other people's businesses, has been a corrupting force on the company.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Like I really dislike what happened when they took this unfortunate turn into services and realized that that was the easiest money they could they could ever make is just take a cut of other people's business. That has a corrupting force I think. DHH discusses Linux and Omarchyyoutube.com · 1 Jul 2025 · 33:28 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsLike I really dislike what happened when they took this unfortunate turn into services and realized that that was the easiest money they could they could ever make is just take a cut of other people's business. That has a corrupting force I think.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 33:28 plays here

    ↗DHH discusses Linux and Omarchyyoutube.com

    1 Jul 2025 · video · 46m · spoken · machine transcript

Allowing sideloading does not necessarily lead to malware attacks

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Millions of Americans are going to be subject to malware if the iPhone must work like the Mac? Apple turns the legislative contempt up to 11world.hey.com · 19 Jan 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsMillions of Americans are going to be subject to malware if the iPhone must work like the Mac?

    ↗Apple turns the legislative contempt up to 11world.hey.com

    19 Jan 2022

Forcing developers to use in-app payment systems is an unacceptable overreach

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals being forced to hand over 30% of the business, as well as the direct customer relationship, was always an unacceptable overreach HEY is finally for sale on the iPhone!world.hey.com · 20 May 2025All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsbeing forced to hand over 30% of the business, as well as the direct customer relationship, was always an unacceptable overreach

    ↗HEY is finally for sale on the iPhone!world.hey.com

    20 May 2025

Coding agents have changed programming, and the scarce skills left are judgment, taste and product sense

Our label. 14 claims in David Heinemeier Hansson's own words.

It is no longer an economically viable enterprise to have humans typing out lines of Ruby, Rust, or C++ because coding agents have become so good.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Coding agents have gotten so good that it's simply not an economically viable enterprise going forward to have humans typing out lines of Ruby, Rust, or C++. Over my dead pencilworld.hey.com · 6 Oct 2026
    Their wordsCoding agents have gotten so good that it's simply not an economically viable enterprise going forward to have humans typing out lines of Ruby, Rust, or C++.

    ↗Over my dead pencilworld.hey.com

    6 Oct 2026

The release of Opus 4.5 in November 2025 was the dividing line, because it was the first time an agent produced work uncannily close to what its user would have written themselves.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Then we get to November 24th, 2025. Opus 4.5, to me, was the dividing line, where suddenly... I didn't even try it on the 24th. I think I tried it on the 26th. I give it a couple of tasks, and I realize that the quality of the output is uncannily close to what I would've written. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 0:07:21 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsThen we get to November 24th, 2025. Opus 4.5, to me, was the dividing line, where suddenly... I didn't even try it on the 24th. I think I tried it on the 26th. I give it a couple of tasks, and I realize that the quality of the output is uncannily close to what I would've written.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:07:21 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript

Software development is about to see an absolute bloom as the price of development plummets.

Mental modelCheaper means more, not less

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals We're about to see an absolute bloom in software development as the price of development plummets and everyone realizes how much automation we still have left to do in this world. Over my dead pencilworld.hey.com · 6 Oct 2026
    Their wordsWe're about to see an absolute bloom in software development as the price of development plummets and everyone realizes how much automation we still have left to do in this world.

    ↗Over my dead pencilworld.hey.com

    6 Oct 2026

Software is product management, and those are the skills the agentic era rewards — skills that are not evenly distributed among programmers.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals The reason I say that is there's a lot of programmers who are not very good product managers. Software is product management. What should it do? Who should it do it for? How should it do it? How should it look? What are our priorities? What do we start with first? What does version one include? All of those skills are not easily or equally distributed across all programmers. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 0:53:20 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsThe reason I say that is there's a lot of programmers who are not very good product managers. Software is product management. What should it do? Who should it do it for? How should it do it? How should it look? What are our priorities? What do we start with first? What does version one include? All of those skills are not easily or equally distributed across all programmers.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:53:20 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript

Most organisations are bottlenecked on ideas, vision and taste rather than on implementation, so making code cheap does not make them productive.

Mental modelBottlenecks

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals The other thing I'd say is that most organizations don't know what they want. They don't know how to make it better. They're not bottlenecked on implementation. They're bottlenecked on ideas. They're bottlenecked on vision. They're bottlenecked on taste. And if you don't have those element in excess of your implementational capacity, it doesn't help. So you can make a lot of shitty ideas come true, then what? DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 0:20:13 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsThe other thing I'd say is that most organizations don't know what they want. They don't know how to make it better. They're not bottlenecked on implementation. They're bottlenecked on ideas. They're bottlenecked on vision. They're bottlenecked on taste. And if you don't have those element in excess of your implementational capacity, it doesn't help. So you can make a lot of shitty ideas come true, then what?

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:20:13 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript

The bulk of agent acceleration is accruing to senior programmers, because judging whether agent output can ship is what made them senior.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals the most successful and applicable agent acceleration that I've seen at 37 signal has been from the most senior people the people who are able to validate whether what the agent produces is suitable to be deployed to millions of people. DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com · 8 Apr 2026 · 0:54:48 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsthe most successful and applicable agent acceleration that I've seen at 37 signal has been from the most senior people the people who are able to validate whether what the agent produces is suitable to be deployed to millions of people.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:54:48 plays here

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com

    8 Apr 2026 · video · 1h 47m · spoken · machine transcript

The pie of software work is exploding, not growing: with the cost of exploring a hunch down a thousandfold, projects nobody would have contemplated get done.

Mental modelCheaper means more, not less

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals we're getting ambitions we would never have looked at before because suddenly the cost of exploring a hunch has just dropped by a thousandfold. DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com · 8 Apr 2026 · 1:10:24 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordswe're getting ambitions we would never have looked at before because suddenly the cost of exploring a hunch has just dropped by a thousandfold.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 1:10:24 plays here

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com

    8 Apr 2026 · video · 1h 47m · spoken · machine transcript

Software lock-in is breaking, because rewriting just the 5% of an application you personally use is now within one person's reach.

Mental modelLock-in and switching costs

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals And maybe you won't get to 100% coverage, but this is the old joke about Microsoft Office. "I only use 5%." Yeah, well, we all use a different 5%. Well, what if we all just build our own 5%? What if I just took the functionality that I need and just did that? That is a completely different challenge and one agents are incredibly capable of doing right now, today, and I've done it a lot of times over. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 0:25:30 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsAnd maybe you won't get to 100% coverage, but this is the old joke about Microsoft Office. "I only use 5%." Yeah, well, we all use a different 5%. Well, what if we all just build our own 5%? What if I just took the functionality that I need and just did that? That is a completely different challenge and one agents are incredibly capable of doing right now, today, and I've done it a lot of times over.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:25:30 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript

Agent-written pull requests already outclass those of the median human contributor to an open source project.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals But it actually means that if you take the median programmer and their pull requests towards an average open source project, they're already getting outclassed by agents. I would rather get an agent-written pull request to one of my projects than I'd get one written by a human, and it's not just because the quality's better. It's also because I feel a lot less bad if I just reject it. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 0:31:58 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsBut it actually means that if you take the median programmer and their pull requests towards an average open source project, they're already getting outclassed by agents. I would rather get an agent-written pull request to one of my projects than I'd get one written by a human, and it's not just because the quality's better. It's also because I feel a lot less bad if I just reject it.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:31:58 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript

Programmers who loved the mechanical act of coding are under threat; those who wanted to build things are not.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals I think you're gonna have a hard time coping with the new reality if the only thing you loved about programming was the mechanical bits of putting the right logical constructs together to produce something other people told you to produce. Because that mechanical process is under threat. If you are, as you just mentioned, excited about building things, I don't think you're under threat at all. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 1:11:08 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsI think you're gonna have a hard time coping with the new reality if the only thing you loved about programming was the mechanical bits of putting the right logical constructs together to produce something other people told you to produce. Because that mechanical process is under threat. If you are, as you just mentioned, excited about building things, I don't think you're under threat at all.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 1:11:08 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript

Peak programmer has passed: the economic value of writing code by hand has peaked, and Jevons' paradox will not bail every programmer out.

Mental modelCheaper means more, not less

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson · changed Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals So, I do think it is correct for the average programmer to think maybe we've seen the best of the golden days. DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com · 8 Apr 2026 · 1:19:13 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsSo, I do think it is correct for the average programmer to think maybe we've seen the best of the golden days.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 1:19:13 plays here

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com

    8 Apr 2026 · video · 1h 47m · spoken · machine transcript

The meme that programmers no longer need to be competent is a trap: the path is competence, and AI does not change that.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson · changed Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals really good programmers are currently more valuable than ever because they're the ones who are able to get the most out of the AI acceleration. DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com · 8 Apr 2026 · 1:35:05 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsreally good programmers are currently more valuable than ever because they're the ones who are able to get the most out of the AI acceleration.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 1:35:05 plays here

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com

    8 Apr 2026 · video · 1h 47m · spoken · machine transcript

Opus is the best frontier model, and the one to start with.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson · held 5 months Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals But to answer your question, the best model in general right now is Fable. The second-best model, in my opinion, is Opus 5. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 2:29:48 into the videoAll korrents from this video

    No longer holdsBut to answer your question, the best model in general right now is Fable. The second-best model, in my opinion, is Opus 5.

    Their words nowIt seems to be changing constantly.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 2:29:48 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript

An open-weight model is already all anyone needs; it is as good as the frontier models.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals When I was instructing the agent, I was like, "Oh my God, Kimi's just as good as these other models." DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 3:23:06 into the videoAll korrents from this video

    Recalls holdingWhen I was instructing the agent, I was like, "Oh my God, Kimi's just as good as these other models."

    Their words nowBut I've been wrong about this before.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 3:23:06 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript

People need struggle, purpose and constraint; total freedom and leisure do not make them happy

Our label. 12 claims in David Heinemeier Hansson's own words.

Total freedom does not make you happy; constraints do.

  1. Pieter Levels Dutch bootstrapper who builds and runs his internet startups alone I don’t think that makes you happy. I think constraints probably make you happy. And that’s a big lesson I learned then. Pieter Levels: Programming, Viral AI Startups, and Digital Nomad Life | Lex Fridman Podcast #440youtube.com · 20 Aug 2024 · 0:23:53 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsI don’t think that makes you happy. I think constraints probably make you happy. And that’s a big lesson I learned then.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:23:53 plays here

    ↗Pieter Levels: Programming, Viral AI Startups, and Digital Nomad Life | Lex Fridman Podcast #440youtube.com

    20 Aug 2024 · video · 3h 43m · spoken · official transcript

  2. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals It's far easier to tune out, of course. To go to your happy place. But that's not where you're likely to make real progress. Stay with the pain, don't shut this outworld.hey.com · 8 Aug 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsIt's far easier to tune out, of course. To go to your happy place. But that's not where you're likely to make real progress.

    ↗Stay with the pain, don't shut this outworld.hey.com

    8 Aug 2022

Mojito Island is a mirage: there is no retirement for ambitious people, and leisure without purpose is misery, not happiness.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson · changed Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals I think that's the other big misconception that some people have about wealth is that they conceive of it as some sort of checkpoint. Like once you've made it, then you can just kick back in leisure as though that was happiness. DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com · 8 Apr 2026 · 1:42:51 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsI think that's the other big misconception that some people have about wealth is that they conceive of it as some sort of checkpoint. Like once you've made it, then you can just kick back in leisure as though that was happiness.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 1:42:51 plays here

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com

    8 Apr 2026 · video · 1h 47m · spoken · machine transcript

Giving up total freedom is a small price for deeper meaning

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Giving up on the total freedom of the unmoored life is a small price to pay for finding the deeper meaning in a tethered relationship with continuing a bloodline that's been drawn for hundreds of thousands of years before it came to you The parental dead end of consent moralityworld.hey.com · 29 Jun 2025All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsGiving up on the total freedom of the unmoored life is a small price to pay for finding the deeper meaning in a tethered relationship with continuing a bloodline that's been drawn for hundreds of thousands of years before it came to you

    ↗The parental dead end of consent moralityworld.hey.com

    29 Jun 2025

People need a meaningful burden to find purpose

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals people who feel overwhelmed by life, or lost in its endless possibilities, might not need a lighter load, but a more meaningful burden instead The responsibility is the rewardworld.hey.com · 2 May 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordspeople who feel overwhelmed by life, or lost in its endless possibilities, might not need a lighter load, but a more meaningful burden instead

    ↗The responsibility is the rewardworld.hey.com

    2 May 2023

Having no responsibilities can be harmful

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals The satiation of every desire paired with a relief of every responsibility is a psychological death sentence to many Picking a purposeworld.hey.com · 24 Dec 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe satiation of every desire paired with a relief of every responsibility is a psychological death sentence to many

    ↗Picking a purposeworld.hey.com

    24 Dec 2023

Taking responsibility for something can give life purpose

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals One of the straightest paths to purpose in life is to take responsibility for something (or someone) The responsibility is the rewardworld.hey.com · 2 May 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsOne of the straightest paths to purpose in life is to take responsibility for something (or someone)

    ↗The responsibility is the rewardworld.hey.com

    2 May 2023

Having too little to do can be worse than having too much

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals it probably is worse, for most people, to have too many stretches of too little to do than the opposite Enough problems to go aroundworld.hey.com · 11 Apr 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsit probably is worse, for most people, to have too many stretches of too little to do than the opposite

    ↗Enough problems to go aroundworld.hey.com

    11 Apr 2024

Companies and workplaces work better without politics, and speech should be defended even when repugnant

Our label. 12 claims in David Heinemeier Hansson's own words.

Work is a terrible place to litigate societal or political questions unrelated to the business with coworkers.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Work is a terrible place to litigate societal/political questions unrelated to the business with coworkers. @dhh on Xx.com · 15 Sept 2026
    Their wordsWork is a terrible place to litigate societal/political questions unrelated to the business with coworkers.

    ↗@dhh on Xx.com

    15 Sept 2026

Companies benefit from not discussing societal politics at work

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals The long-term benefits of that new etiquette are clear now that we've had to live with the results for a while Meta goes no politics at work (and nobody cares)world.hey.com · 9 Dec 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe long-term benefits of that new etiquette are clear now that we've had to live with the results for a while

    ↗Meta goes no politics at work (and nobody cares)world.hey.com

    9 Dec 2022

Corporations should not weigh in on social and political questions outside their direct sphere of operations

Mental modelCircle of competence

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals THIS IS WHY WE SHOULDN'T WANT CORPORATIONS WEIGHING IN ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL QUESTIONS OUTSIDE THEIR DIRECT SPHERE OF OPERATIONS Proof of the peakworld.hey.com · 3 Feb 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsTHIS IS WHY WE SHOULDN'T WANT CORPORATIONS WEIGHING IN ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL QUESTIONS OUTSIDE THEIR DIRECT SPHERE OF OPERATIONS

    ↗Proof of the peakworld.hey.com

    3 Feb 2023

Paying a third of the company six months' salary to leave after banning politics at work was the best money 37signals ever spent.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals And it was the best money we've ever spent on anything related to culture, maybe anything at all. Of all the things that I bought, that peace of mind we bought with those payouts was just priceless. DHH: How to Build a Profitable Company Without Losing Controlyoutube.com · 26 Jul 2026 · 1:36:14 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsAnd it was the best money we've ever spent on anything related to culture, maybe anything at all. Of all the things that I bought, that peace of mind we bought with those payouts was just priceless.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 1:36:14 plays here

    ↗DHH: How to Build a Profitable Company Without Losing Controlyoutube.com

    26 Jul 2026 · video · 1h 41m · spoken · machine transcript

Free speech must be defended even for repugnant views

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals unless you take a stand for free speech in the cases most people would find repugnant, you'll gradually lose the right altogether The faith of Andrew Tateworld.hey.com · 7 Sept 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsunless you take a stand for free speech in the cases most people would find repugnant, you'll gradually lose the right altogether

    ↗The faith of Andrew Tateworld.hey.com

    7 Sept 2022

The price of an open internet is permitting disagreeable speech

Mental modelTrade-offs

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Accept that the price we pay for an open, free internet is one which permits the darker sides of humanity Here's how to fix Twitterworld.hey.com · 31 Oct 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsAccept that the price we pay for an open, free internet is one which permits the darker sides of humanity

    ↗Here's how to fix Twitterworld.hey.com

    31 Oct 2022

Equating speech with violence legitimizes severe crackdowns

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals See, once you've claimed something to be violent, you've justified the maximum severity of a response Equating blasphemy with violence legitimizes the inquisitionworld.hey.com · 23 Feb 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsSee, once you've claimed something to be violent, you've justified the maximum severity of a response

    ↗Equating blasphemy with violence legitimizes the inquisitionworld.hey.com

    23 Feb 2022

Canceling someone for their speech is often a losing strategy

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals The guaranteed failure to cancel Chapelle or Rogan over these inane speech prohibitions will weaken every future attempt to cancel less resilient figures Spotify must be afraid of canceling Rogan, right? Right?!world.hey.com · 28 Jan 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe guaranteed failure to cancel Chapelle or Rogan over these inane speech prohibitions will weaken every future attempt to cancel less resilient figures

    ↗Spotify must be afraid of canceling Rogan, right? Right?!world.hey.com

    28 Jan 2022

Service companies should not be pushed to vet customers for political beliefs

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals if service companies are pushed to vet all customers for political beliefs, the day may soon come where service is denied them because of their views May Shopify's immunity spread to the whole herdworld.hey.com · 29 Nov 2022All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsif service companies are pushed to vet all customers for political beliefs, the day may soon come where service is denied them because of their views

    ↗May Shopify's immunity spread to the whole herdworld.hey.com

    29 Nov 2022

Employees do not have the right to prevent a business from carrying out its normal course of commerce over a disagreement in politics

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals they do not have the right to prevent a business from carrying out its normal course of commerce over a disagreement in politics We are a place of businessworld.hey.com · 19 Apr 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsthey do not have the right to prevent a business from carrying out its normal course of commerce over a disagreement in politics

    ↗We are a place of businessworld.hey.com

    19 Apr 2024

Who comes in is a country's own decision, and mass immigration has harmed Europe

Our label. 11 claims in David Heinemeier Hansson's own words.

Countries have a right to set their own immigration policy, and the assumption that people can be moved between countries with no consequence is empirically false.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Countries and peoples have a right to set an immigration policy, and this notion that we shouldn't have any borders or, or even worse than that, it's all just a blank slate, that all peoples are just the same, and we can take people from one place of the earth and we can place them in another place on the earth and everything's just gonna work out hunky-dory. Empirically not true. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 4:32:58 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsCountries and peoples have a right to set an immigration policy, and this notion that we shouldn't have any borders or, or even worse than that, it's all just a blank slate, that all peoples are just the same, and we can take people from one place of the earth and we can place them in another place on the earth and everything's just gonna work out hunky-dory. Empirically not true.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 4:32:58 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript

Who gets into a country is legitimately for its people to decide, and a democracy should enforce the decision they make

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Opposition to mass immigration and multi-culturalism in Europe isn't likely to go away The New York Times gives liberals The Danish Permission to pivot on mass immigrationworld.hey.com · 26 Feb 2025All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsOpposition to mass immigration and multi-culturalism in Europe isn't likely to go away

    ↗The New York Times gives liberals The Danish Permission to pivot on mass immigrationworld.hey.com

    26 Feb 2025

Mass migration is harmful to Europe

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals No single issue has cost Europe more than mass immigration when you add up the political, social, and economic consequences Three sacred cows that must die so Europe can liveworld.hey.com · 16 Jul 2026All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsNo single issue has cost Europe more than mass immigration when you add up the political, social, and economic consequences

    ↗Three sacred cows that must die so Europe can liveworld.hey.com

    16 Jul 2026

Long-term assimilation of immigrants is not happening at a scale to tackle social problems

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals long-term assimilation just isn't happening at a scale to tackle these problems Closing the borders alone won't fix the problemsworld.hey.com · 11 Mar 2025All korrents from this piece
    Their wordslong-term assimilation just isn't happening at a scale to tackle these problems

    ↗Closing the borders alone won't fix the problemsworld.hey.com

    11 Mar 2025

A country benefits from immigration in proportion to whether the people arriving are net contributors who assimilate.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Immigration depends greatly on who immigrates. And a country benefits when the people who immigrate are net contributors to the society, and in most cases, that they assimilate with the local culture. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 4:34:06 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsImmigration depends greatly on who immigrates. And a country benefits when the people who immigrate are net contributors to the society, and in most cases, that they assimilate with the local culture.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 4:34:06 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript

Sweden's longer open-door immigration policy left it in a world of hurt compared to Denmark

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Sweden, which otherwise shares a lot of similarities with the Danes in terms of welfare-state design. They went with an open-door policy on immigration for far longer, ended up taking many more (about 3x Denmark), and are now in a world of hurt with the highest gun-murder rate in all of Europe, along with an overall crime rate 50% greater than Denmark The reality of the Danish fairytaleworld.hey.com · 4 Jan 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsSweden, which otherwise shares a lot of similarities with the Danes in terms of welfare-state design. They went with an open-door policy on immigration for far longer, ended up taking many more (about 3x Denmark), and are now in a world of hurt with the highest gun-murder rate in all of Europe, along with an overall crime rate 50% greater than Denmark

    ↗The reality of the Danish fairytaleworld.hey.com

    4 Jan 2024

Suppressing discussion of mass immigration's downsides leads to problems

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals The state of Sweden today is a direct consequence of suppressing any talk of the downsides to mass immigration for decades Europeans don't have or understand free speechworld.hey.com · 15 Feb 2025All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe state of Sweden today is a direct consequence of suppressing any talk of the downsides to mass immigration for decades

    ↗Europeans don't have or understand free speechworld.hey.com

    15 Feb 2025

Descendants of immigrants are more likely to be violent and troublesome than their parents

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals Descendants of MENAPT immigrants are more likely to be violent and troublesome than their parents Closing the borders alone won't fix the problemsworld.hey.com · 11 Mar 2025All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsDescendants of MENAPT immigrants are more likely to be violent and troublesome than their parents

    ↗Closing the borders alone won't fix the problemsworld.hey.com

    11 Mar 2025

Views David Heinemeier Hansson held before

Programmers should write the code themselves; AI helps but does not drive

Our label. 3 claims in David Heinemeier Hansson's own words.

AI is welcome as a better search engine and a pair programmer that does not drive, but writing the code itself is not something to hand over to it.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson · held 9 months Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals I will now start any project I'm starting with. I'm starting agent first and that's a massive shift DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com · 8 Apr 2026 · 0:39:57 into the videoAll korrents from this video

    No longer holdsI will now start any project I'm starting with. I'm starting agent first and that's a massive shift

    Their words nowWhat I failed to realize at the time was that running a bunch of agents feels less like being a project manager for agents and more like stepping into this super mech suit where suddenly I don't just have two arms.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:39:57 plays here

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com

    8 Apr 2026 · video · 1h 47m · spoken · machine transcript

The joy of a programmer is to type the code himself; promoting yourself out of that makes you a project manager of a murder of AI crows.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson · held 9 months Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals I have been hyper accelerated as a programmer. It's a different kind of programmer, but it still has the same affinity to aesthetics, at least when I'm producing Ruby code. DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com · 8 Apr 2026 · 1:04:33 into the videoAll korrents from this video

    No longer holdsI have been hyper accelerated as a programmer. It's a different kind of programmer, but it still has the same affinity to aesthetics, at least when I'm producing Ruby code.

    Their words nowthat's the biggest revelation actually more than even the capacity of the agents is my enjoyment running them.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 1:04:33 plays here

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com

    8 Apr 2026 · video · 1h 47m · spoken · machine transcript

The ideas in software originate with humans; agents build what people tell them to build.

  1. David Heinemeier Hansson Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals I thought all the ideas would originate with the humans. They would tell their agents what to build, and off they went. DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com · 26 Aug 2026 · 0:36:24 into the videoAll korrents from this video

    Recalls holdingI thought all the ideas would originate with the humans. They would tell their agents what to build, and off they went.

    Their words nowI don't think that's true anymore at all.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:36:24 plays here

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com

    26 Aug 2026 · video · 5h 15m · spoken · official transcript