Last weekend, I realised I had a ChatGPT/Codex “banked reset” expiring at 4am. This meant that I could use up my Codex tokens way before my usual weekly reset, and restart with a fresh quota.
So, before stepping into a movie theatre, I asked GPT-5.6 Sol Ultra to one-shot an iOS version of my finance + rewards tracking web app (made in Expo / React Native for reusable logic). It’s the epitome of personal software — I use it daily, and I don’t care if anyone else does. (If you also use YNAB and obsessively track your spending for points, you might find some semblance of utility at rewards.soon.sg. But I’m not taking feedback.)
Anyway, I asked for an iOS app, and had some friendly neighbourhood Marvel fun times. 4 hours later, it was done!! But….. look at this iOS app the machine god “designed”.
- Look at that Edit button. Just look at it. What is it. (Granted, this one may be Expo’s fault.)
- There are three (3!!) “status indicators”. AI loves status indicators, but this is just pure indulgence.
- Header: Name of card. Subtitle: the… name of the card… again?
- Conversely, navigation header title! “Card”. Thanks, AI bro. Card.
Not pictured: the app’s tendency to over-explain in the UI something it heard in the prompt. “This is the box to enter information, because entering information should happen in a box.” (I paraphrase, but not by much.)
Design with AI is pretty rough! Here’s Figma CEO Dylan Field, 17 minutes into this video:
People that are just like, yeah, design me the thing — you’re going to get the average, and it’s not going to stand out. And in a world where there’s just more than ever in terms of software and media and advertising and content, standing out is hard. And I think that it takes not only human steering and human intent, but also it takes a point of view.
I’d add that having a point of view comes from exposure: someone who’s seen a lot of design, great and mediocre and terrible, is better equipped to avoid producing slop. Which suggests an odd corollary for educators that maybe the fastest way to build that instinct could be… to generate absolute mountains of slop and learn to spot the tells.
So, err, thanks Codex for the slop design? Maybe 5.7 will do better.