The AI Factory Floor

This week we're talking about Gastown! Dylan and Steve join Kris to break down the viral project that spins up hundreds of Claude Code instances to build a software factory. Steve makes the case for why this is an inevitable evolution and the conversation digs into what it actually means to treat software development as a factory floor. The panel traces the cycle from mainframes to PCs to cloud to AI, debates whether data centers are really the environmental villain, and gets into the real economics of AI pricing.

As always, we've got supporter content! This week that includes the crypto rug pull scheme targeting open source maintainers, why conEdison is actually good at their job, whether AI subscriptions are just Uber-style subsidization all over again, the gambling psychology of usage-based costs, and Steve's secret project Docket. Not a supporter yet? Fix that today by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

If you prefer to watch this episode, you can view it on YouTube.

This week's episode of Break continues the conversation. Kris and Steve dive deep into semantic versioning, the real cost of "breaking changes" in Go, and a whirlwind history of package managers from CPAN to NPM to Go modules. Watch it on YouTube or listen with your favorite podcasting app! Learn more by going to https://break.show/26.

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Table of Contents:

Prologue (00:00:00)
Chapter 1: Welcome Back, Dylan (00:00:46)
Chapter 2: What is Gastown? (00:06:02)
Chapter 3: Where Are the AI Factory Floor Managers? (00:07:53)
Chapter 4: The Industry is Cyclical (00:19:43)
Chapter 5: Rug Pull as a Service [Preview] (00:23:36)
Chapter 7: Energy, Grids & Con Edison [Preview] (00:24:12)
Chapter 9: Mainframes Are Still Holding It Together [Preview] (00:25:00)
Chapter 11: API Pricing & the Race to the Bottom [Preview] (00:25:35)
Chapter 12: Is AI Pricing Just Uber All Over Again? [Preview] (00:26:12)
Chapter 13: The Gambling Psychology of API Costs [Preview] (00:26:47)
Chapter 15: Beads & AI Dev Tools [Preview] (00:27:23)
Chapter 16: Steve's Secret Project [Preview] (00:27:52)
Chapter 6: Data Centers Aren't the Villain (00:28:45)
Chapter 8: The Case for Local AI (00:35:01)
Chapter 10: Claude Code Usage & Hitting the Limits (00:39:55)
Chapter 14: The Upgrade Treadmill (00:47:15)
Chapter 17: Claude Debugging War Stories (00:56:31)
Epilogue (01:01:28)

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(00:00) - Prologue
(00:46) - Chapter 1: Welcome Back, Dylan
(06:02) - Chapter 2: What is Gastown?
(07:53) - Chapter 3: Where Are the AI Factory Floor Managers?
(19:43) - Chapter 4: The Industry is Cyclical
(23:36) - Chapter 5: Rug Pull as a Service [Preview]
(24:12) - Chapter 7: Energy, Grids & Con Edison [Preview]
(25:00) - Chapter 9: Mainframes Are Still Holding It Together [Preview]
(25:35) - Chapter 11: API Pricing & the Race to the Bottom [Preview]
(26:12) - Chapter 12: Is AI Pricing Just Uber All Over Again? [Preview]
(26:47) - Chapter 13: The Gambling Psychology of API Costs [Preview]
(27:23) - Chapter 15: Beads & AI Dev Tools [Preview]
(27:52) - Chapter 16: Steve's Secret Project [Preview]
(28:45) - Chapter 6: Data Centers Aren't the Villain
(35:01) - Chapter 8: The Case for Local AI
(39:55) - Chapter 10: Claude Code Usage & Hitting the Limits
(47:15) - Chapter 14: The Upgrade Treadmill
(56:31) - Chapter 17: Claude Debugging War Stories
(01:01:28) - Epilogue

The AI Factory Floor

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