Claude
Anthropic's AI assistant, used by writers as a sounding board
A chat assistant from Anthropic, in a browser, on phones and through an API. Writers who use it describe the same pattern: hand over a rough list, ask what is missing, ask for the opposite case, then rewrite the answer in your own voice. Free tier, paid plans above it. Like every model of this kind it states false things with complete confidence.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- David SparksDoes it
Apple productivity writer · MacSparky
Claude has been his main AI tool for about six months, wired into his other apps through Model Context Protocol and organized with projects and skills. He is not after something that writes for him, he says, just something to take the grunt work so more of the creative part is left.
Source: MacSparky: Sparky's Tech Stack for 2026“I’ve been using Model Context Protocol to link into some of my other applications. For the kind of work I want to perform with artificial intelligence, Claude does a nice job. … I’m not looking for it to write for me so much as help me with the grunt work so I have more time to do the creative work myself.”
MacSparky: Sparky's Tech Stack for 2026 (opens in a new tab) · 31 Jan 2026 - Federico ViticciDoes it
Apple writer · founder of MacStories
Wrote the Apple Frames CLI with Claude Code and Codex, then shipped an agent skill so either of them can drive the tool. He notes that some readers object on principle to software written by AI. That is part of why he rebuilt the hand-made shortcut in the same release.
Source: MacStories: Introducing Apple Frames 4 - Lex FridmanDoes it
AI researcher · Lex Fridman Podcast
Splits his programming roughly half and half between Claude Code and Cursor. One reason he gives for Claude Code is building the skill of programming in English, guiding the work at a macro level instead of checking every diff.
Source: Lex Fridman Podcast: State of AI in 2026 transcript - Naval RavikantDoes it
Angel investor · AngelList and the Naval podcast
Claude Code pulled him back into programming after decades away, and he says he got addicted straight away. He opens Claude on his phone to drive a terminal running on his desktop, or runs it in the cloud, then has it build apps and ship them to an app store he built for himself. One of them tracks his workouts.
Source: nav.al: A Return to Code - Seth GodinDoes it
Author · Seth's Blog, published daily
Uses AI every day for more than an hour, and says Claude is the one he actually talks to, partly because it warns him when it might be making something up. The method he describes is narrow: hand it three bullet points, ask for four more, then rewrite them himself.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #792 transcript
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