Also, a lot of it makes no sense. Bonobos is listed as "Avoid" because it was bought out, not because the product was made worse in any way. Some entries have reasoning about avoiding because the product was made worse, but most are just "company was sold" or "owned by a conglomerate"
That isn't reason enough for me to avoid, maybe to watch for things, but not avoid. Wake me when a product is worse on purpose, like the title claims.
And it's just ai slopped text too. This is the reason ThermoWorks is "Approved"
> Independent and honest; manufacturing is English rather than American, which matters for framing but not for stewardship
What does that even mean? That says absolutely nothing.
Same with the reason lodge is approved:
> Family-owned, US-made, priced honestly. The anchor of the entire counter-list.
Says nothing besides the AI wrote everything, and likely claude.
Completely doesn't answer the AI question, nor the "who's paying for this" question. Because presumably it's not a hobbyist buying every tool, mattress, and boot in the world annually.
Can you imagine being a top guy at Palantir in "AI Strategy" and this is your big move? Shows zero creativity, quality of work, just slop. I would quit if I had to work for this guy as my boss. We have better engineers who can use, productize, and monetize AI.
EDIT: wait this guy is non-tech. It actually tracks a lot more now. Not as a knock against non-tech people using AI, just that I would have been very disappointed in Palantir if they had a top AI engineer create something like this after leaving. You would assume they are more judicious about the markers they look for in hiring, but for a more salesy, soft skills role, a product like this makes perfect sense and isn't unimpressive.
That isn't reason enough for me to avoid, maybe to watch for things, but not avoid. Wake me when a product is worse on purpose, like the title claims.
And it's just ai slopped text too. This is the reason ThermoWorks is "Approved"
> Independent and honest; manufacturing is English rather than American, which matters for framing but not for stewardship
What does that even mean? That says absolutely nothing.
Same with the reason lodge is approved:
> Family-owned, US-made, priced honestly. The anchor of the entire counter-list.
Says nothing besides the AI wrote everything, and likely claude.