Sublayer and Artificial Ruby with Scott Werner

Scott Werner—author of the Works on My Machine newsletter and creator of the Sublayer AI-agent framework—joins Valentino and Joe for a fast-moving conversation on how Rubyists are bending large-language models to their will. We unpack Sublayer’s “generators + actions” architecture, the delightfully chaotic Monkey’s Paw prompt-driven web framework, and Phoenix’s AI-generated test suites, all while debating what remains uniquely human in an age of code that writes itself. If you care about Ruby, rapid prototyping, and staying sane as models ship weekly, this one’s for you.

Show Notes

• Meet Scott Werner – from early Rails days to Works on My Machine and the Artificial Ruby meetup scene. 
• Inside Sublayer – why “string-in → string-out” thinking led to Generators, Actions, and the idea of promptable architecture for code that assembles itself.
• Monkey’s Paw – a Ruby gem where Markdown “wishes” become full web pages via an LLM—hallucinations welcome.
• Blueprints & Semantic Linting – templated agent blueprints now built into Sublayer and text-based rules that keep AI code reviews on-message.
• Phoenix.love – Joe’s Rails-centric tool that churns out thousands of AI-generated tests and the ops pain (alerts, idle “vibe-waiting”) that follows.
• Feedback Loops & Human Taste – why Paul McCartney’s Get Back jam session is the right metaphor for iterating with an LLM collaborator. 
• When the Model Eats Your Product – surviving weekly model upgrades, function-calling APIs, and the temptation to rebuild everything (again).
• Ruby’s Next Act – AI-inspired namespacing proposals, Ractors explained, and why dynamic languages still win the “unknown unknowns.”
• Show-and-Tell Picks
  • Scott: TLDraw for visual AI pipelines. 
  • Valentino: “AI Software Architect” markdown blue-prints. 
  • Joe: “Demystifying Ruby” blog series on threads, fibers & ractors. 

Referenced URLs

• Sublayer – https://sublayer.com
• Sublayer (GitHub) – https://github.com/sublayerapp/sublayer
• Monkey’s Paw (GitHub) – https://github.com/sublayerapp/monkeyspaw
• Phoenix – https://phoenix.love
• Works on My Machine newsletter – https://worksonmymachine.substack.com
• TLDraw – https://tldraw.com

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00:00 Introduction to Ruby and AI
02:04 Scott's Journey with Ruby and AI
04:41 The Evolution of Programming Languages
06:38 The Ruby Community's Impact on Software Engineering
08:43 Monkey's Paw: A New Approach to Web Development
10:35 AI's Role in Creative Processes
11:30 Collaboration with AI in Software Development
14:50 The Future of Software Development
17:24 The Impact of AI on Customer Feedback
20:24 Navigating the Rapid Changes in Software Products
22:51 Understanding User Feedback in AI Development
24:53 The Human Element in AI Collaboration
28:20 Prototyping with AI Tools
30:18 The Evolving Roles in Teams
31:43 Sublayer Tech: Innovations and Frameworks
34:36 Blueprints and Code Generation
37:14 Navigating Existential Dread in AI Development
40:15 The Future of AI and Product Development
44:12 Community and Collaboration in Tech
47:08 Monitoring AI Processes
50:19 The Importance of Orchestration
52:03 Final Thoughts and Recommendations