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Geoffrey Litt
HCI researcher
Geoffrey Litt is a Senior Researcher at Ink & Switch, an independent research lab, where he leads the Malleable Software track.14 His research focuses on developing new tools and media that help people customize software without traditional programming.4
Litt holds a PhD in Computer Science from MIT, where he worked with Daniel Jackson on malleable software.4 Prior to his current role, he was a Senior Software Engineer at Panorama Education from June 2013 to May 2019, where he helped grow the team from 6 to 120+ employees.1
His work explores the concept of "malleable software," which aims to create computing environments where anyone can mold their own tools to their needs.1 Litt's research has become particularly relevant with the advent of generative AI, which he believes can help turn fuzzy ideas into code, potentially enabling more people to create and customize software.2
Some of Litt's notable projects include:
- Riffle: A system for reactive relational state in local-first applications3
- Cambria: A project focused on schema evolution in distributed systems3
- Wildcard: A tool for spreadsheet-driven customization of web applications5
Litt is also a frequent speaker and writer on topics related to software customization and the future of programming. He has presented his work at various conferences and has published several academic papers in the field of computer science.5
Highlights
A lovely interview with lots of inspiring points about reading and writing
AUTOMATION vs AUGMENTATION quiz, please share your opinions:
- A developer uses a typechecker to validate the code that they typed by hand. Would you say this "automating the work" or "augmenting the human"?


