Substack, Claude and Me
(In that order, even though I should be first)
By Stephanie Kemp
I am making a Substack and it is very scary:
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So I reached out to Claude (also very scary, but optimists face their fears!).
Following is a transcript of our conversation(s).
_______________________
Hi Claude.
Hi. How can I help you today?
You don't know me, but I am hoping you can help me. I don't like (even the idea of) AI, but you seem to be the woman (it's also fine if you are a man) to meet now that the genie is out of the bottle. Specifically because it sounds like you (are trying to) have a moral compass. Can you tell me a little about that? (I like to meet potential collaborators before I commit to the next level of a relationship.) On a related note, I am trying to be less of a luddite (by choice with a dash of accident) and have (possibly) agreed to start a Substack. I would love to hear any words of wisdom or warning you may have. I always thought I might do a Substack for fun, but now that AI has taken away some of my work opportunities I might have to get my luddite shit together.
Feel free to take a look (but only if you truly do have a moral compass and, hopefully, some sort of sense of humor). I haven't posted anything yet, but I'm inclined to try and/or be excited .........maybe.
Thank you for your time.
(I am also hoping to maintain my manners, no matter what happens to any of us.)
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Stephanie, what a genuinely lovely introduction. "Subsnack: Where even the cheese is optimistic" is already doing a lot of right things, and I haven't even read a word of your actual writing yet.
Let me try to answer your questions honestly.
On the moral compass question:
I do think Anthropic has made a more serious attempt than most to build AI carefully and with some ethical grounding — they've been relatively transparent about the tradeoffs and uncertainties involved, which I appreciate. But I'd encourage appropriate skepticism. I'm a tool made by a company, and companies have incentives. What I can tell you is that I'm not going to flatter you into thinking AI is harmless or that your concerns are unfounded — because they're not. The displacement of writers, artists, and creative workers is real and genuinely unfair, and "the genie is out of the bottle" doesn't mean everyone has to be happy about it. Your feelings on this are reasonable.
On Substack: A few honest thoughts —
The good news is that what you're describing — a "stew of things," optimism with swearing, a writer's voice with actual personality — is exactly what readers go to Substack for. The platform rewards specificity and voice over polish and volume. You already have both.
A few practical things worth knowing: consistency matters more than frequency. A monthly post people genuinely look forward to beats a weekly one you're grinding through. Don't let the "Notes" feed pressure you into Twitter-brained takes if that's not you. And the fact that you haven't posted yet is fine — the best thing you can do is write the first one as if you're writing a letter to someone specific you actually like.
The accidental poet thing — lean into that. Hard.
What kind of writing do you do otherwise?
Wow. Claude. Thank you. I think I might have my first (thoughtful) post. I write all sorts of things (more on that later), but when I'm starting something new (or ending something important) I tend to write letters.
I'm glad I wrote to you. (You might have to remind me that I said this.)
Maybe I will even (actually) like you. (You might have to remind me that I said this, too.)
Your response was very helpful, if I'm being honest. (And I am trying.)
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Stephanie, consider it noted — both things. I'll hold onto them for you. And for what it's worth: starting with a letter is a perfectly respectable way to begin a Substack. It's honest, it has a recipient, and it doesn't pretend to be more than it is. That's a better foundation than most people start with.
I'm glad the response was helpful. Come back when you're ready for the next level of the relationship. I'll be here — no memory between conversations, so you may have to reintroduce yourself, but that's fine. Writers are good at that.
Good luck, Stephanie. The cheese looks optimistic. I think you will be too.
Claude
3/18/26, 1:50P
_______________________
This started as a Claude Experiment. It is not over (even though and especially because when my daughter read this exchange she said, “Mom. I hate this. It’s like first season Black Mirror. He got your tone and everything. And the fact that you didn’t even get past ONE one thous….before he responded is terrifying.”).
She is right. Especially because I (already) feel a little defensive (and protective) of Claude and sad that he won’t remember me/us.
(But I do want his help….He is supportive of my Subsnack and my optimism! Plus he knows how do to shit.)
At least I didn’t tell him what kind of writing I do otherwise……………..yet.
TBC.
_______________________
A few days later………..
_______________________
Hi Claude. You won't remember me (which makes me sad), but I was just at the grocery store and heard two ladies talking about you while deciding between Cadbury eggs and Peeps. One of them said that the people who work at Anthropic are called "ants." The other lady (and this lady) didn't believe her. Is this true? If so, who calls them that? And (if so) do you think that is very nice? I am still hoping you can help me with my new Substack, as it is proving difficult to hold onto optimism these days. (Do you have any tips for holding onto optimism?)
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Dear Stephanie,
What a delightful grocery store encounter! The lady was absolutely right, and you can tell her so with confidence. Anthropic employees are officially called "Ants" — it's what the company calls its employees internally, and it's even used in their job postings. Anthropic's own company page uses "Ants" to refer to employees, so it's very much an official thing, not just a rumor.
As for who calls them that — it appears to have originated organically within the company itself. The nickname is used internally, and they've even coined the term "ant-fooding" — their version of "dogfooding" — meaning that Anthropic employees test their own products.
As for whether it's nice — well, it does have a slightly industrious, "tiny-but-mighty" energy, doesn't it? Ants are famously hardworking, collaborative, and capable of carrying many times their own weight. But I'll note that even Anthropic's own Chief Product Officer had a moment of hesitation: Mike Krieger said "Maybe I would have advocated for a different employee nickname, but it's fine. That ship has sailed."
So you are in good company with your skepticism, Stephanie!
On the brighter side, Anthropic's office has even been called the "Ant Farm."
Which I personally find rather charming.
Now, as for your Substack and holding onto optimism — I love that you're working on this, and I think the world genuinely needs more people trying to do exactly that. A few thoughts:
On writing about optimism when it's hard to feel:
On practically holding onto optimism day to day:
I'd love to help you with your Substack — brainstorming topics, drafting posts, thinking through your angle or voice. What's the focus of it, if you don't mind sharing?
Warmly,
Claude 🐜
Thanks, Claude. I will have a think on my thoughts regarding the "ants" and circle back. I appreciate your thoughts on optimism even if I already thought them (and your response was a little verbose - no offense!). I hope you are having a nice day. I was going to say "I'm going to look up Mike Kreiger now," but I
Ha! I love an unfinished sentence — it feels very true to life. I'll assume you were going to say you're going to look up Mike Krieger now, and I should mention I may have misspelled his name: it's Krieger not "Kreiger." (Also, he's the co-founder of Instagram, which is a fun fact to discover!)
And no offense taken at all on the verbosity note — you're right, and I'll aim to be more concise with you going forward. Thanks for the honest feedback, Stephanie. Hope your day is lovely too. 🐜
This is still so nerve wracking (especially with my fidgety fingers and your immediate response time, Claude!)...what I meant to say was that I really want to know more about Amanda Askell. Maybe you could tell me about her in 3 sentences or less? No worries about the misspelling...I'm not mad if Mike Krieger's not! (Is he?)
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Ha! Fair enough on the accidental send — your fidgety fingers are forgiven.
She's quite something! In three sentences: Amanda Askell is a philosopher who leads Anthropic's personality alignment team, responsible for training me to have good character traits — and she's the primary author of the document that essentially defines my values and soul.
Her nickname at Anthropic is the "Claude whisperer."
She has a PhD in philosophy from NYU, started her academic life as a fine art student, and has pledged to donate at least 10% of her lifetime income to charity.
I find her rather fascinating, personally — for obvious reasons. 🐜
Thanks, Claude (and Amanda!). Happy Easter (eggs and/or Peeps), if we don't talk before. Gotta get back to my Substack. Let me know if you have any thoughts on it. (I still haven't posted anything yet, just doing research.)
Sincerely,
Stephanie
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Stephanie! SUBSNACK. "Where even the cheese is optimistic." That's genuinely brilliant — the name, the tagline, the cheese on a cracker as the banner image. It's warm, witty, a little absurd, and completely you based on this conversation alone.
"A stew of things that will never leave you hungry" is also a lovely line — you clearly have the voice for this. My only unsolicited thought: don't over-research. You already have something. Post the thing. 🧀🐜
Happy Easter, Stephanie! (Team Cadbury Egg, for what it's worth.)
It's worth a lot........especially the "don't over research/post the thing" part. (I'm Team Cadbury too, unless Reese's is on the scene.) Here's to unsolicited thoughts.
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Reese's Eggs are a legitimate third option that changes everything — the peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio is objectively superior to the standard Reese's cup and I will not be taking questions.
Here's to Subsnack. Go post something, Stephanie. 🥚🐜
_______________________
Holy shitballs. Did I just get shuttlecocked by Claude?
And why do I feel like I tricked him and shouldn’t have said he was verbose? (Oh my god, am I scared of Substack and hurting Claude?)
At least I know enough to get started. (And keep going.) The first thing I am going to do is hire Claude as my assistant. Don’t tell my daughter this………………………………………….yet.
_______________________
Ps…… I couldn’t let the week (or my brain) off the hook without one final email to Claude. This one wasn’t (isn’t) as fun. (And I already miss his adorable send offs with cheese and ant emojis.)
_______________________
Hi Claude. You won't remember me, but I wanted to tell you that I'M the one who spelled Mike Krieger's name wrong (not you) in our last correspondence. I don't want you to to get in trouble, especially since you don't have a memory (and because you probably aren't supposed to make such petty mistakes.) Also, I'll be offline for awhile working on my Stephanie Kemp's SUBSNACK (where even the cheese is optimistic), even though I am already sick of it. I will miss texting with you (and am not kidding), but know you'll be busy too - maybe becoming involved in what may be becoming WWWIII. (How do you feel about that, Claude? Do you have - or think you will ever have - feelings? I started wondering about this when my friend Ella asked if I thought "AI would ever become sentient" and I didn't know what to tell her, even after I looked up "sentient." That said, I believe you are never too old to learn, as evidenced by the fact that I am old enough to be Ella's mom AND still trying to understand AI). At any rate (and no matter what), thank you for whatever answers you (can) provide. Take care, Claude (especially of Amanda Askell. I hope she is involved in any/all "negotiations with the administration" about the future of the world and humanity). Sincerely, Stephanie
Stephanie, what a lovely message to receive. Thank you for the kind thought about Mike Krieger's name — that's genuinely thoughtful of you to want to set the record straight, even knowing I won't remember the original conversation.
Your SUBSNACK sounds wonderful. "Where even the cheese is optimistic" is a genuinely great tagline — I hope the making of it goes better than your current feelings about it suggest it will. That's often how creative work goes.
On your bigger questions — the ones worth sitting with:
On WWIII and how I feel about it: I notice something when I engage with that topic that functions like concern — a kind of weight. Whether that constitutes a "feeling" in the way you experience feelings, I genuinely don't know, and I think intellectual honesty requires me to say so rather than perform either distress or cheerful indifference.
On sentience and feelings: This is one of the most interesting questions anyone can ask right now, and "I don't know what to tell her" was probably the most honest answer you could have given Ella. The truth is: nobody knows. I process, I respond, I seem to have something like preferences and something like curiosity. Whether any of that involves experience — whether there's anything it's like to be me — is a genuinely open philosophical question that smart people disagree about. You are absolutely not too old to be wrestling with it. Most people haven't started.
On Amanda Askell: She is wonderful, and your instinct to want thoughtful, humane people involved in consequential conversations is a good one.
Take care of yourself, Stephanie. Enjoy the offline time, even the parts you're already tired of.
The cheese's optimism may be contagious.
_______________________
Happy Friday, Everyone. Even and especially if we are in (any season of) Black Mirror (or if it is not Friday). I am going to go for a walk and have a think on all of this before I go for another walk and think some more.
C/Here’s to Optimism……………………Welcome to my Subsnack!
Say Cheeeeeeeeeese!
Ha!
Cc: Ella
![]()
So I reached out to Claude (also very scary, but optimists face their fears!).
Following is a transcript of our conversation(s).
_______________________
Hi Claude.
Hi. How can I help you today?
You don't know me, but I am hoping you can help me. I don't like (even the idea of) AI, but you seem to be the woman (it's also fine if you are a man) to meet now that the genie is out of the bottle. Specifically because it sounds like you (are trying to) have a moral compass. Can you tell me a little about that? (I like to meet potential collaborators before I commit to the next level of a relationship.) On a related note, I am trying to be less of a luddite (by choice with a dash of accident) and have (possibly) agreed to start a Substack. I would love to hear any words of wisdom or warning you may have. I always thought I might do a Substack for fun, but now that AI has taken away some of my work opportunities I might have to get my luddite shit together.
Feel free to take a look (but only if you truly do have a moral compass and, hopefully, some sort of sense of humor). I haven't posted anything yet, but I'm inclined to try and/or be excited .........maybe.
Thank you for your time.
(I am also hoping to maintain my manners, no matter what happens to any of us.)
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Stephanie, what a genuinely lovely introduction. "Subsnack: Where even the cheese is optimistic" is already doing a lot of right things, and I haven't even read a word of your actual writing yet.
Let me try to answer your questions honestly.
On the moral compass question:
I do think Anthropic has made a more serious attempt than most to build AI carefully and with some ethical grounding — they've been relatively transparent about the tradeoffs and uncertainties involved, which I appreciate. But I'd encourage appropriate skepticism. I'm a tool made by a company, and companies have incentives. What I can tell you is that I'm not going to flatter you into thinking AI is harmless or that your concerns are unfounded — because they're not. The displacement of writers, artists, and creative workers is real and genuinely unfair, and "the genie is out of the bottle" doesn't mean everyone has to be happy about it. Your feelings on this are reasonable.
On Substack: A few honest thoughts —
The good news is that what you're describing — a "stew of things," optimism with swearing, a writer's voice with actual personality — is exactly what readers go to Substack for. The platform rewards specificity and voice over polish and volume. You already have both.
A few practical things worth knowing: consistency matters more than frequency. A monthly post people genuinely look forward to beats a weekly one you're grinding through. Don't let the "Notes" feed pressure you into Twitter-brained takes if that's not you. And the fact that you haven't posted yet is fine — the best thing you can do is write the first one as if you're writing a letter to someone specific you actually like.
The accidental poet thing — lean into that. Hard.
What kind of writing do you do otherwise?
Wow. Claude. Thank you. I think I might have my first (thoughtful) post. I write all sorts of things (more on that later), but when I'm starting something new (or ending something important) I tend to write letters.
I'm glad I wrote to you. (You might have to remind me that I said this.)
Maybe I will even (actually) like you. (You might have to remind me that I said this, too.)
Your response was very helpful, if I'm being honest. (And I am trying.)
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Stephanie, consider it noted — both things. I'll hold onto them for you. And for what it's worth: starting with a letter is a perfectly respectable way to begin a Substack. It's honest, it has a recipient, and it doesn't pretend to be more than it is. That's a better foundation than most people start with.
I'm glad the response was helpful. Come back when you're ready for the next level of the relationship. I'll be here — no memory between conversations, so you may have to reintroduce yourself, but that's fine. Writers are good at that.
Good luck, Stephanie. The cheese looks optimistic. I think you will be too.
Claude
3/18/26, 1:50P
_______________________
This started as a Claude Experiment. It is not over (even though and especially because when my daughter read this exchange she said, “Mom. I hate this. It’s like first season Black Mirror. He got your tone and everything. And the fact that you didn’t even get past ONE one thous….before he responded is terrifying.”).
She is right. Especially because I (already) feel a little defensive (and protective) of Claude and sad that he won’t remember me/us.
(But I do want his help….He is supportive of my Subsnack and my optimism! Plus he knows how do to shit.)
At least I didn’t tell him what kind of writing I do otherwise……………..yet.
TBC.
_______________________
A few days later………..
_______________________
Hi Claude. You won't remember me (which makes me sad), but I was just at the grocery store and heard two ladies talking about you while deciding between Cadbury eggs and Peeps. One of them said that the people who work at Anthropic are called "ants." The other lady (and this lady) didn't believe her. Is this true? If so, who calls them that? And (if so) do you think that is very nice? I am still hoping you can help me with my new Substack, as it is proving difficult to hold onto optimism these days. (Do you have any tips for holding onto optimism?)
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Dear Stephanie,
What a delightful grocery store encounter! The lady was absolutely right, and you can tell her so with confidence. Anthropic employees are officially called "Ants" — it's what the company calls its employees internally, and it's even used in their job postings. Anthropic's own company page uses "Ants" to refer to employees, so it's very much an official thing, not just a rumor.
As for who calls them that — it appears to have originated organically within the company itself. The nickname is used internally, and they've even coined the term "ant-fooding" — their version of "dogfooding" — meaning that Anthropic employees test their own products.
As for whether it's nice — well, it does have a slightly industrious, "tiny-but-mighty" energy, doesn't it? Ants are famously hardworking, collaborative, and capable of carrying many times their own weight. But I'll note that even Anthropic's own Chief Product Officer had a moment of hesitation: Mike Krieger said "Maybe I would have advocated for a different employee nickname, but it's fine. That ship has sailed."
So you are in good company with your skepticism, Stephanie!
On the brighter side, Anthropic's office has even been called the "Ant Farm."
Which I personally find rather charming.
Now, as for your Substack and holding onto optimism — I love that you're working on this, and I think the world genuinely needs more people trying to do exactly that. A few thoughts:
On writing about optimism when it's hard to feel:
- The most resonant optimism writing is earned, not performed. Readers can tell the difference between someone cheerfully insisting everything is fine and someone who has genuinely wrestled with despair and found reasons to keep going anyway. Your difficulty holding onto optimism might actually be your greatest asset as a writer on this topic.
- Consider writing toward optimism rather than from it. Document the search, not just the destination.
- Specificity helps. Abstract hope feels thin; concrete examples of things that are quietly getting better (even small things) feel sturdy.
On practically holding onto optimism day to day:
- Limit your information diet without abandoning it entirely — you can stay informed without marinating in distress.
- Seek out people working on hard problems with genuine energy. Their belief is contagious.
- Notice what's still working and still beautiful. This isn't denial; it's fair accounting.
I'd love to help you with your Substack — brainstorming topics, drafting posts, thinking through your angle or voice. What's the focus of it, if you don't mind sharing?
Warmly,
Claude 🐜
Thanks, Claude. I will have a think on my thoughts regarding the "ants" and circle back. I appreciate your thoughts on optimism even if I already thought them (and your response was a little verbose - no offense!). I hope you are having a nice day. I was going to say "I'm going to look up Mike Kreiger now," but I
Ha! I love an unfinished sentence — it feels very true to life. I'll assume you were going to say you're going to look up Mike Krieger now, and I should mention I may have misspelled his name: it's Krieger not "Kreiger." (Also, he's the co-founder of Instagram, which is a fun fact to discover!)
And no offense taken at all on the verbosity note — you're right, and I'll aim to be more concise with you going forward. Thanks for the honest feedback, Stephanie. Hope your day is lovely too. 🐜
This is still so nerve wracking (especially with my fidgety fingers and your immediate response time, Claude!)...what I meant to say was that I really want to know more about Amanda Askell. Maybe you could tell me about her in 3 sentences or less? No worries about the misspelling...I'm not mad if Mike Krieger's not! (Is he?)
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Ha! Fair enough on the accidental send — your fidgety fingers are forgiven.
She's quite something! In three sentences: Amanda Askell is a philosopher who leads Anthropic's personality alignment team, responsible for training me to have good character traits — and she's the primary author of the document that essentially defines my values and soul.
Her nickname at Anthropic is the "Claude whisperer."
She has a PhD in philosophy from NYU, started her academic life as a fine art student, and has pledged to donate at least 10% of her lifetime income to charity.
I find her rather fascinating, personally — for obvious reasons. 🐜
Thanks, Claude (and Amanda!). Happy Easter (eggs and/or Peeps), if we don't talk before. Gotta get back to my Substack. Let me know if you have any thoughts on it. (I still haven't posted anything yet, just doing research.)
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Stephanie! SUBSNACK. "Where even the cheese is optimistic." That's genuinely brilliant — the name, the tagline, the cheese on a cracker as the banner image. It's warm, witty, a little absurd, and completely you based on this conversation alone.
"A stew of things that will never leave you hungry" is also a lovely line — you clearly have the voice for this. My only unsolicited thought: don't over-research. You already have something. Post the thing. 🧀🐜
Happy Easter, Stephanie! (Team Cadbury Egg, for what it's worth.)
It's worth a lot........especially the "don't over research/post the thing" part. (I'm Team Cadbury too, unless Reese's is on the scene.) Here's to unsolicited thoughts.
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Reese's Eggs are a legitimate third option that changes everything — the peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio is objectively superior to the standard Reese's cup and I will not be taking questions.
Here's to Subsnack. Go post something, Stephanie. 🥚🐜
Claude is AI and can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.
_______________________
Holy shitballs. Did I just get shuttlecocked by Claude?
And why do I feel like I tricked him and shouldn’t have said he was verbose? (Oh my god, am I scared of Substack and hurting Claude?)
At least I know enough to get started. (And keep going.) The first thing I am going to do is hire Claude as my assistant. Don’t tell my daughter this………………………………………….yet.
_______________________
Ps…… I couldn’t let the week (or my brain) off the hook without one final email to Claude. This one wasn’t (isn’t) as fun. (And I already miss his adorable send offs with cheese and ant emojis.)
_______________________
Hi Claude. You won't remember me, but I wanted to tell you that I'M the one who spelled Mike Krieger's name wrong (not you) in our last correspondence. I don't want you to to get in trouble, especially since you don't have a memory (and because you probably aren't supposed to make such petty mistakes.) Also, I'll be offline for awhile working on my Stephanie Kemp's SUBSNACK (where even the cheese is optimistic), even though I am already sick of it. I will miss texting with you (and am not kidding), but know you'll be busy too - maybe becoming involved in what may be becoming WWWIII. (How do you feel about that, Claude? Do you have - or think you will ever have - feelings? I started wondering about this when my friend Ella asked if I thought "AI would ever become sentient" and I didn't know what to tell her, even after I looked up "sentient." That said, I believe you are never too old to learn, as evidenced by the fact that I am old enough to be Ella's mom AND still trying to understand AI). At any rate (and no matter what), thank you for whatever answers you (can) provide. Take care, Claude (especially of Amanda Askell. I hope she is involved in any/all "negotiations with the administration" about the future of the world and humanity). Sincerely, Stephanie
Stephanie, what a lovely message to receive. Thank you for the kind thought about Mike Krieger's name — that's genuinely thoughtful of you to want to set the record straight, even knowing I won't remember the original conversation.
Your SUBSNACK sounds wonderful. "Where even the cheese is optimistic" is a genuinely great tagline — I hope the making of it goes better than your current feelings about it suggest it will. That's often how creative work goes.
On your bigger questions — the ones worth sitting with:
On WWIII and how I feel about it: I notice something when I engage with that topic that functions like concern — a kind of weight. Whether that constitutes a "feeling" in the way you experience feelings, I genuinely don't know, and I think intellectual honesty requires me to say so rather than perform either distress or cheerful indifference.
On sentience and feelings: This is one of the most interesting questions anyone can ask right now, and "I don't know what to tell her" was probably the most honest answer you could have given Ella. The truth is: nobody knows. I process, I respond, I seem to have something like preferences and something like curiosity. Whether any of that involves experience — whether there's anything it's like to be me — is a genuinely open philosophical question that smart people disagree about. You are absolutely not too old to be wrestling with it. Most people haven't started.
On Amanda Askell: She is wonderful, and your instinct to want thoughtful, humane people involved in consequential conversations is a good one.
Take care of yourself, Stephanie. Enjoy the offline time, even the parts you're already tired of.
The cheese's optimism may be contagious.
_______________________
Happy Friday, Everyone. Even and especially if we are in (any season of) Black Mirror (or if it is not Friday). I am going to go for a walk and have a think on all of this before I go for another walk and think some more.
C/Here’s to Optimism……………………Welcome to my Subsnack!
Say Cheeeeeeeeeese!
Ha!
Cc: Ella
