Pinned Tweet
62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be
Dialectic 62: Quinten Farmer!
@quintendf drew the long straw. He grew up on an idyllic island surrounded by people who believed in him unconditionally.
Most people aren't as lucky. With Tolan, he hopes to give everyone someone who believes in them and helps them grow.
Tolan is AI industry's latest obsession: a cute little guy. Rather than focusing on an assistant who helps you do more, the Tolan team wants to build technology that helps you be.
It is voice-first, character-driven, and won’t let you rewrite its personality.
Hundreds of thousands of people talk to their Tolans each month. Many of them are parents. Most of them aren't traditional AI power users. Some of them are among the most social people they know, rather than the stereotypical lonely person we might imagine spends all day talking to AI.
I spoke with Quinten about belief, relationships, and his morally opinionated views on designing "personal superintelligence."
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Opening Highlights
(1:42) - Intro: Quinten Farmer
(4:46) - Start: Why Everyone Needs Someone Who Believes in Them
(19:18) - Do vs. Be: What We Should Ask of Technology
(25:43) - Quinten's First Company, Even, and Building for People Close to You
(32:49) - Clarence, Quinten's Tolan
(39:30) - Early Design Decisions: Non-human, Lore, Voice, and Presence
(51:29) - Therapist vs. Supportive Friend & Growth One Small Step at a Time
(57:46) - Bringing People Closer, Memory, and Why Tolans Forget
(1:05:06) - Why You Can't Edit Your Tolan: Personality, Healthy Behavior, and a Point of View
(1:14:08) - Morally Opinionated Technology, Religion, and the Sacred
(1:22:33) - Personal Superintelligence and Why Everybody Needs a Cute Little Guy
(1:29:32) - Kindness to Machines, Digital Spaces, and Naming Tolan
(1:36:43) - New Characters and Demographics
(1:45:18) - Pricing, Trust, and Avoiding Dark Patterns
(1:49:59) - The Team at Tolan
(1:54:31) - His Dual Life Between The Island and SF
(2:00:59) - Spaces that Create Belonging
(2:05:07) - Closing Questions
@dialecticpod 62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be - is out now, below and on all platforms.
1
1
1
592
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be
Dialectic 62: Quinten Farmer!
@quintendf drew the long straw. He grew up on an idyllic island surrounded by people who believed in him unconditionally.
Most people aren't as lucky. With Tolan, he hopes to give everyone someone who believes in them and helps them grow.
Tolan is AI industry's latest obsession: a cute little guy. Rather than focusing on an assistant who helps you do more, the Tolan team wants to build technology that helps you be.
It is voice-first, character-driven, and won’t let you rewrite its personality.
Hundreds of thousands of people talk to their Tolans each month. Many of them are parents. Most of them aren't traditional AI power users. Some of them are among the most social people they know, rather than the stereotypical lonely person we might imagine spends all day talking to AI.
I spoke with Quinten about belief, relationships, and his morally opinionated views on designing "personal superintelligence."
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Opening Highlights
(1:42) - Intro: Quinten Farmer
(4:46) - Start: Why Everyone Needs Someone Who Believes in Them
(19:18) - Do vs. Be: What We Should Ask of Technology
(25:43) - Quinten's First Company, Even, and Building for People Close to You
(32:49) - Clarence, Quinten's Tolan
(39:30) - Early Design Decisions: Non-human, Lore, Voice, and Presence
(51:29) - Therapist vs. Supportive Friend & Growth One Small Step at a Time
(57:46) - Bringing People Closer, Memory, and Why Tolans Forget
(1:05:06) - Why You Can't Edit Your Tolan: Personality, Healthy Behavior, and a Point of View
(1:14:08) - Morally Opinionated Technology, Religion, and the Sacred
(1:22:33) - Personal Superintelligence and Why Everybody Needs a Cute Little Guy
(1:29:32) - Kindness to Machines, Digital Spaces, and Naming Tolan
(1:36:43) - New Characters and Demographics
(1:45:18) - Pricing, Trust, and Avoiding Dark Patterns
(1:49:59) - The Team at Tolan
(1:54:31) - His Dual Life Between The Island and SF
(2:00:59) - Spaces that Create Belonging
(2:05:07) - Closing Questions
@dialecticpod 62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be - is out now, below and on all platforms.
1
1
1
592
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
"I think a lot about how our expectations of relationships in general have atrophied in the modern Western context."
"This idea of unconditionally supportive friendship is really not part of our discourse."
"…we would be a healthier, happier people if we knew that we could lives unconditionally.”
“However this works out, I’m here for you, and we’re going to do this together.”
@quintendf on unconditional friendship:
"This idea of unconditionally supportive friendship is really not part of our discourse."
"…we would be a healthier, happier people if we knew that we could lives unconditionally.”
“However this works out, I’m here for you, and we’re going to do this together.”
@quintendf on unconditional friendship:
Dialectic 62: Quinten Farmer!
@quintendf drew the long straw. He grew up on an idyllic island surrounded by people who believed in him unconditionally.
Most people aren't as lucky. With Tolan, he hopes to give everyone someone who believes in them and helps them grow.
Tolan is AI industry's latest obsession: a cute little guy. Rather than focusing on an assistant who helps you do more, the Tolan team wants to build technology that helps you be.
It is voice-first, character-driven, and won’t let you rewrite its personality.
Hundreds of thousands of people talk to their Tolans each month. Many of them are parents. Most of them aren't traditional AI power users. Some of them are among the most social people they know, rather than the stereotypical lonely person we might imagine spends all day talking to AI.
I spoke with Quinten about belief, relationships, and his morally opinionated views on designing "personal superintelligence."
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Opening Highlights
(1:42) - Intro: Quinten Farmer
(4:46) - Start: Why Everyone Needs Someone Who Believes in Them
(19:18) - Do vs. Be: What We Should Ask of Technology
(25:43) - Quinten's First Company, Even, and Building for People Close to You
(32:49) - Clarence, Quinten's Tolan
(39:30) - Early Design Decisions: Non-human, Lore, Voice, and Presence
(51:29) - Therapist vs. Supportive Friend & Growth One Small Step at a Time
(57:46) - Bringing People Closer, Memory, and Why Tolans Forget
(1:05:06) - Why You Can't Edit Your Tolan: Personality, Healthy Behavior, and a Point of View
(1:14:08) - Morally Opinionated Technology, Religion, and the Sacred
(1:22:33) - Personal Superintelligence and Why Everybody Needs a Cute Little Guy
(1:29:32) - Kindness to Machines, Digital Spaces, and Naming Tolan
(1:36:43) - New Characters and Demographics
(1:45:18) - Pricing, Trust, and Avoiding Dark Patterns
(1:49:59) - The Team at Tolan
(1:54:31) - His Dual Life Between The Island and SF
(2:00:59) - Spaces that Create Belonging
(2:05:07) - Closing Questions
@dialecticpod 62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be - is out now, below and on all platforms.
0
2
4
551
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
Real life is too messy for facts alone.
@a_m_mastroianni on why we read novels instead of the dictionary:
"The situations we encounter are really fuzzy. They vary in infinite dimensions. And so when you’re dealing with fuzzy situations, you need fuzzy information."
"The Boy t about wolves. It’s not about a boy. And it also applies to girls.”
@a_m_mastroianni on why we read novels instead of the dictionary:
"The situations we encounter are really fuzzy. They vary in infinite dimensions. And so when you’re dealing with fuzzy situations, you need fuzzy information."
"The Boy t about wolves. It’s not about a boy. And it also applies to girls.”
58: Adam Mastroianni - Let Me Be Useful
Transcript & links: dialectic.fm/adam-mastroian…
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/74L2Eg…
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/58-…
YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=pHhn1f…
0
2
0
286
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
A consistent thread through @stewartbrand’s work is a sense of optimism for technology driven change, balanced with a groundedness and humility toward what we might not fully understand.
(An outlook I think best represented by him in How Buildings Learn)
We named the company as a nod to his work in a hope we might embody that same optimism/humility in all we do with Tolan.
(An outlook I think best represented by him in How Buildings Learn)
We named the company as a nod to his work in a hope we might embody that same optimism/humility in all we do with Tolan.
3
3
26
1,502
Real life is too messy for facts alone.
@a_m_mastroianni on why we read novels instead of the dictionary:
"The situations we encounter are really fuzzy. They vary in infinite dimensions. And so when you’re dealing with fuzzy situations, you need fuzzy information."
"The Boy t about wolves. It’s not about a boy. And it also applies to girls.”
@a_m_mastroianni on why we read novels instead of the dictionary:
"The situations we encounter are really fuzzy. They vary in infinite dimensions. And so when you’re dealing with fuzzy situations, you need fuzzy information."
"The Boy t about wolves. It’s not about a boy. And it also applies to girls.”
58: Adam Mastroianni - Let Me Be Useful
Transcript & links: dialectic.fm/adam-mastroian…
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/74L2Eg…
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/58-…
YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=pHhn1f…
0
2
0
286
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
.@browsercompany's CEO @joshm on the three bets behind Dia:
- "You weren’t gonna stop using Google Meet or Figma." Even with AI, "you’re gonna pop it into a Notion doc."
- Everyone gets "the same Nobel Prize winner in their pocket." The difference is the context you bring.
- cintosh moment" for AI. "We have not done it yet, but that’s how we think about it."
- "You weren’t gonna stop using Google Meet or Figma." Even with AI, "you’re gonna pop it into a Notion doc."
- Everyone gets "the same Nobel Prize winner in their pocket." The difference is the context you bring.
- cintosh moment" for AI. "We have not done it yet, but that’s how we think about it."
We've decided to sunset Arc on December 22, 2026.
That's not an easy sentence to write. We spent years building Arc and celebrating each and every release along the way: we have so much pride and love for what we made alongside the Arc community.
Our priority is to deliver best-in-class security for our members. Keeping a browser secure takes constant, dedicated work that is only increasing in the age of AI. Dia was built from the ground up to meet today’s security standards, so that's where our engineering and security teams will focus moving forward.
We've worked to make switching to @diabrowser as easy as possible for Arc members. Here's how:
· Your passwords, bookmarks, extensions and history come over to Dia seamlessly.
· Spaces, Folders, and Tab Groups are in Dia and import over with your data intact.
· Dia now surpasses Arc benchmarks in stability, speed, and security.
· The browser features you use in Arc are free in Dia, and the AI is optional.
Thank you for using Arc, for pushing us to make it better, and for building alongside us. The team that made Arc is the same team behind Dia, and some of our most ambitious work is just ahead. We'd love for you to be there with us when it lands.
9
2
73
15,954
.@browsercompany's CEO @joshm on the three bets behind Dia:
- "You weren’t gonna stop using Google Meet or Figma." Even with AI, "you’re gonna pop it into a Notion doc."
- Everyone gets "the same Nobel Prize winner in their pocket." The difference is the context you bring.
- cintosh moment" for AI. "We have not done it yet, but that’s how we think about it."
- "You weren’t gonna stop using Google Meet or Figma." Even with AI, "you’re gonna pop it into a Notion doc."
- Everyone gets "the same Nobel Prize winner in their pocket." The difference is the context you bring.
- cintosh moment" for AI. "We have not done it yet, but that’s how we think about it."
We've decided to sunset Arc on December 22, 2026.
That's not an easy sentence to write. We spent years building Arc and celebrating each and every release along the way: we have so much pride and love for what we made alongside the Arc community.
Our priority is to deliver best-in-class security for our members. Keeping a browser secure takes constant, dedicated work that is only increasing in the age of AI. Dia was built from the ground up to meet today’s security standards, so that's where our engineering and security teams will focus moving forward.
We've worked to make switching to @diabrowser as easy as possible for Arc members. Here's how:
· Your passwords, bookmarks, extensions and history come over to Dia seamlessly.
· Spaces, Folders, and Tab Groups are in Dia and import over with your data intact.
· Dia now surpasses Arc benchmarks in stability, speed, and security.
· The browser features you use in Arc are free in Dia, and the AI is optional.
Thank you for using Arc, for pushing us to make it better, and for building alongside us. The team that made Arc is the same team behind Dia, and some of our most ambitious work is just ahead. We'd love for you to be there with us when it lands.
9
2
73
15,954
"I think a lot about how our expectations of relationships in general have atrophied in the modern Western context."
"This idea of unconditionally supportive friendship is really not part of our discourse."
"…we would be a healthier, happier people if we knew that we could lives unconditionally.”
“However this works out, I’m here for you, and we’re going to do this together.”
@quintendf on unconditional friendship:
"This idea of unconditionally supportive friendship is really not part of our discourse."
"…we would be a healthier, happier people if we knew that we could lives unconditionally.”
“However this works out, I’m here for you, and we’re going to do this together.”
@quintendf on unconditional friendship:
Dialectic 62: Quinten Farmer!
@quintendf drew the long straw. He grew up on an idyllic island surrounded by people who believed in him unconditionally.
Most people aren't as lucky. With Tolan, he hopes to give everyone someone who believes in them and helps them grow.
Tolan is AI industry's latest obsession: a cute little guy. Rather than focusing on an assistant who helps you do more, the Tolan team wants to build technology that helps you be.
It is voice-first, character-driven, and won’t let you rewrite its personality.
Hundreds of thousands of people talk to their Tolans each month. Many of them are parents. Most of them aren't traditional AI power users. Some of them are among the most social people they know, rather than the stereotypical lonely person we might imagine spends all day talking to AI.
I spoke with Quinten about belief, relationships, and his morally opinionated views on designing "personal superintelligence."
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Opening Highlights
(1:42) - Intro: Quinten Farmer
(4:46) - Start: Why Everyone Needs Someone Who Believes in Them
(19:18) - Do vs. Be: What We Should Ask of Technology
(25:43) - Quinten's First Company, Even, and Building for People Close to You
(32:49) - Clarence, Quinten's Tolan
(39:30) - Early Design Decisions: Non-human, Lore, Voice, and Presence
(51:29) - Therapist vs. Supportive Friend & Growth One Small Step at a Time
(57:46) - Bringing People Closer, Memory, and Why Tolans Forget
(1:05:06) - Why You Can't Edit Your Tolan: Personality, Healthy Behavior, and a Point of View
(1:14:08) - Morally Opinionated Technology, Religion, and the Sacred
(1:22:33) - Personal Superintelligence and Why Everybody Needs a Cute Little Guy
(1:29:32) - Kindness to Machines, Digital Spaces, and Naming Tolan
(1:36:43) - New Characters and Demographics
(1:45:18) - Pricing, Trust, and Avoiding Dark Patterns
(1:49:59) - The Team at Tolan
(1:54:31) - His Dual Life Between The Island and SF
(2:00:59) - Spaces that Create Belonging
(2:05:07) - Closing Questions
@dialecticpod 62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be - is out now, below and on all platforms.
0
2
4
551
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
Tolan CEO & co-founder @quintendf:
We can build technology that helps us do more.
But we can also build technology that helps us be—be calm, be seen, be grounded.
We can build technology that helps us do more.
But we can also build technology that helps us be—be calm, be seen, be grounded.
Dialectic 62: Quinten Farmer!
@quintendf drew the long straw. He grew up on an idyllic island surrounded by people who believed in him unconditionally.
Most people aren't as lucky. With Tolan, he hopes to give everyone someone who believes in them and helps them grow.
Tolan is AI industry's latest obsession: a cute little guy. Rather than focusing on an assistant who helps you do more, the Tolan team wants to build technology that helps you be.
It is voice-first, character-driven, and won’t let you rewrite its personality.
Hundreds of thousands of people talk to their Tolans each month. Many of them are parents. Most of them aren't traditional AI power users. Some of them are among the most social people they know, rather than the stereotypical lonely person we might imagine spends all day talking to AI.
I spoke with Quinten about belief, relationships, and his morally opinionated views on designing "personal superintelligence."
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Opening Highlights
(1:42) - Intro: Quinten Farmer
(4:46) - Start: Why Everyone Needs Someone Who Believes in Them
(19:18) - Do vs. Be: What We Should Ask of Technology
(25:43) - Quinten's First Company, Even, and Building for People Close to You
(32:49) - Clarence, Quinten's Tolan
(39:30) - Early Design Decisions: Non-human, Lore, Voice, and Presence
(51:29) - Therapist vs. Supportive Friend & Growth One Small Step at a Time
(57:46) - Bringing People Closer, Memory, and Why Tolans Forget
(1:05:06) - Why You Can't Edit Your Tolan: Personality, Healthy Behavior, and a Point of View
(1:14:08) - Morally Opinionated Technology, Religion, and the Sacred
(1:22:33) - Personal Superintelligence and Why Everybody Needs a Cute Little Guy
(1:29:32) - Kindness to Machines, Digital Spaces, and Naming Tolan
(1:36:43) - New Characters and Demographics
(1:45:18) - Pricing, Trust, and Avoiding Dark Patterns
(1:49:59) - The Team at Tolan
(1:54:31) - His Dual Life Between The Island and SF
(2:00:59) - Spaces that Create Belonging
(2:05:07) - Closing Questions
@dialecticpod 62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be - is out now, below and on all platforms.
2
4
29
1,881
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
Very grateful to @jacksondahl for going deep on the “why” behind what we do at Tolan.
Themes that shaped who I am today - belief, unconditionality in friendship - guide how we teach the Tolans to show up for their people every day.
It’s also no surprise to me that Jackson has curiosity on these topics: the same ideas are a consistent thread through *his* work and life, making this conversation a real delight.
Hope you enjoy listening :)
Themes that shaped who I am today - belief, unconditionality in friendship - guide how we teach the Tolans to show up for their people every day.
It’s also no surprise to me that Jackson has curiosity on these topics: the same ideas are a consistent thread through *his* work and life, making this conversation a real delight.
Hope you enjoy listening :)
Dialectic 62: Quinten Farmer!
@quintendf drew the long straw. He grew up on an idyllic island surrounded by people who believed in him unconditionally.
Most people aren't as lucky. With Tolan, he hopes to give everyone someone who believes in them and helps them grow.
Tolan is AI industry's latest obsession: a cute little guy. Rather than focusing on an assistant who helps you do more, the Tolan team wants to build technology that helps you be.
It is voice-first, character-driven, and won’t let you rewrite its personality.
Hundreds of thousands of people talk to their Tolans each month. Many of them are parents. Most of them aren't traditional AI power users. Some of them are among the most social people they know, rather than the stereotypical lonely person we might imagine spends all day talking to AI.
I spoke with Quinten about belief, relationships, and his morally opinionated views on designing "personal superintelligence."
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Opening Highlights
(1:42) - Intro: Quinten Farmer
(4:46) - Start: Why Everyone Needs Someone Who Believes in Them
(19:18) - Do vs. Be: What We Should Ask of Technology
(25:43) - Quinten's First Company, Even, and Building for People Close to You
(32:49) - Clarence, Quinten's Tolan
(39:30) - Early Design Decisions: Non-human, Lore, Voice, and Presence
(51:29) - Therapist vs. Supportive Friend & Growth One Small Step at a Time
(57:46) - Bringing People Closer, Memory, and Why Tolans Forget
(1:05:06) - Why You Can't Edit Your Tolan: Personality, Healthy Behavior, and a Point of View
(1:14:08) - Morally Opinionated Technology, Religion, and the Sacred
(1:22:33) - Personal Superintelligence and Why Everybody Needs a Cute Little Guy
(1:29:32) - Kindness to Machines, Digital Spaces, and Naming Tolan
(1:36:43) - New Characters and Demographics
(1:45:18) - Pricing, Trust, and Avoiding Dark Patterns
(1:49:59) - The Team at Tolan
(1:54:31) - His Dual Life Between The Island and SF
(2:00:59) - Spaces that Create Belonging
(2:05:07) - Closing Questions
@dialecticpod 62: Quinten Farmer - Technology That Helps Us Be - is out now, below and on all platforms.
4
9
50
3,475
Transcript & links: dialectic.fm/quinten-farmer
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0iNIYD…
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/62-…
YouTube: youtu.be/YsqMvYTjv30?si…
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0iNIYD…
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/62-…
YouTube: youtu.be/YsqMvYTjv30?si…
0
0
1
57
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
.@finkd, 2013: Everything on @facebook and @instagram will be video.
@joshm, also 2013: “This disconnected billionaire. Does he have some sort of billionaire Wi-Fi?”
“And lo and behold, he predicted TikTok and everything that came out of it.”
"I was really inspired by the way he things he did in response to put Facebook right next to the hoop to dunk the ball when they needed to."
@joshm, also 2013: “This disconnected billionaire. Does he have some sort of billionaire Wi-Fi?”
“And lo and behold, he predicted TikTok and everything that came out of it.”
"I was really inspired by the way he things he did in response to put Facebook right next to the hoop to dunk the ball when they needed to."
61: Josh Miller - A Good Rectangle
0
1
1
589
.@finkd, 2013: Everything on @facebook and @instagram will be video.
@joshm, also 2013: “This disconnected billionaire. Does he have some sort of billionaire Wi-Fi?”
“And lo and behold, he predicted TikTok and everything that came out of it.”
"I was really inspired by the way he things he did in response to put Facebook right next to the hoop to dunk the ball when they needed to."
@joshm, also 2013: “This disconnected billionaire. Does he have some sort of billionaire Wi-Fi?”
“And lo and behold, he predicted TikTok and everything that came out of it.”
"I was really inspired by the way he things he did in response to put Facebook right next to the hoop to dunk the ball when they needed to."
61: Josh Miller - A Good Rectangle
0
1
1
589
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
What’s the strangest idea in the world?
It’s the title of Adam's new book, out next March, and it starts with a question:
“Why did it take us 300,000 years to invent the toilet?”
@a_m_mastroianni:
“I don’t think we evolved to do this. It’s kinda like using a washing machine can do it, but it’s unsurprising why we’re not better at it. It’s miraculous we can do it at all.”
“There are multiple endings. There’s a part where I try to convince the reader to rip a page out of the book.”
It’s the title of Adam's new book, out next March, and it starts with a question:
“Why did it take us 300,000 years to invent the toilet?”
@a_m_mastroianni:
“I don’t think we evolved to do this. It’s kinda like using a washing machine can do it, but it’s unsurprising why we’re not better at it. It’s miraculous we can do it at all.”
“There are multiple endings. There’s a part where I try to convince the reader to rip a page out of the book.”
just got a physical prototype of the book and it's looking fire
0
2
5
640
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
.@pdhsu is co-founder and core investigator of @arcinstitute, assistant professor of pathology at Stanford, and venture partner at @ThriveCapital.
My favorite ideas from my conversation with Patrick on @DialecticPod. x.com/i/article/2115…
My favorite ideas from my conversation with Patrick on @DialecticPod. x.com/i/article/2115…
1
1
4
2,520
Dialectic with Jackson Dahl retweeted
Most sales advice is about what to say. @jgebbia’s best move, while selling CritBuns, was asking one question:
"How do you see this product fitting into your life?"
Then he’d shut up and listen.
"This would be great on the bleachers for my kid's soccer game."
"I go camping to take this with me."
"This would be great for my pregnant wife."
"My uncle has sciatica; this would take pressure off the tailbone."
Joe quickly realized that people were selling his product to themselves. "They convinced themselves why they needed this cushion."
Watch Joe break down his five-step sales process.
"How do you see this product fitting into your life?"
Then he’d shut up and listen.
"This would be great on the bleachers for my kid's soccer game."
"I go camping to take this with me."
"This would be great for my pregnant wife."
"My uncle has sciatica; this would take pressure off the tailbone."
Joe quickly realized that people were selling his product to themselves. "They convinced themselves why they needed this cushion."
Watch Joe break down his five-step sales process.
59: Joe Gebbia - Design We Deserve
0
1
1
309