Simon Willison
Simon Willison is a truly fascinating guy. I recently discovered his work thanks to a tutorial video by Mark Needham. Several months ago, I had added LLM, a tool he developed, to my bookmarks list without fully exploring its potential. LLM is a command-line utility that enables querying large language models (ChatGPT, Claude, and others) directly from the terminal—a feature tailor-made for developers. In its first version, this ingenious tool saved Simon precious seconds by allowing him to query ChatGPT without leaving the command line. Simon has since expanded LLM with a remarkable array of plugins. These additions enable users to connect to various AI APIs, run language models locally and offline, generate embeddings, and even perform clustering. One standout feature is a plugin that generates custom command lines on demand. These commands can then be reviewed, modified, executed, or dismissed by the user.
With a 20-year career in software development, Simon Willison has made an indelible mark on the tech world. He was a co-creator of Django, the open-source Python web framework that revolutionized web development. More recently, he developed Datasette, an open-source tool for exploring and publishing data. His career is as varied as it is impactful. Yet, what makes Simon especially compelling is his ability to communicate his work with clarity and enthusiasm. He’s not just a developer—he’s also an exceptional storyteller, both in writing and speaking.
Simon maintains a prolific blog where he regularly shares insights on his projects and the latest developments in AI. This blog is a treasure trove for anyone interested in technology. He actively contributes to the community, sharing discoveries and creations with a generosity that stands out. In interviews, Simon laments the decline of writing as a discipline and encourages others to blog more—even if it means lowering their standards to get started. In one interview, he revealed his ambitious goal of publishing a blog post every day by 2024—a target he seems well on track to achieve. His experience in journalism shines through in the precision and accessibility of his writing.
Beyond his blog, Simon is an engaging speaker, comfortable on conference stages and in interviews on YouTube. He speaks with clarity, precision, and a playful command of English that makes his enthusiasm contagious. His ability to explain complex ideas using vivid, humorous metaphors is unparalleled. For instance, on the arrival of large language models in the early 2020s: “About three years ago, aliens landed on Earth, handed over a USB stick, and then disappeared. Since then, we’ve been poking at whatever they gave us with a stick, trying to figure out what it does, how it works, and what it can do.” Excellent.
To demystify chatbots, Simon compares their function to a primitive role-playing game where engineers cleverly “trick” the LLM to fulfill its primary task: predicting the next word while crafting coherent responses. He also coined the term “slop” to describe the practice of publishing raw AI-generated content without human refinement or context – a characteristically direct way of addressing a growing concern in AI content creation.
Simon Willison is, without a doubt, an extraordinary figure. Brilliant, sharp, and likely a perfectionist with a touch of obsessive energy, he channels his passion into a relentless pursuit of understanding and innovation. He embodies the best qualities of a popularizer—someone unafraid to state the obvious to build a foundation for deeper insights, ensuring his audience follows along. While others might obscure their explanations in an attempt to appear more sophisticated, Simon opts for clarity and comprehensiveness, sharing his insights with an infectious enthusiasm born from genuine curiosity and wonder at human achievement.