---
type: "article"
title: "Signal ping : Skill still sets the ceiling"
summary: "AI helps most when it is guided by experience."
newsletter: "Signals from Our Futures Past"
newsletter_handle: "mamund"
newsletter_url: "https://usecommune.com/n/mamund"
author: "Mike Amundsen (@mamund)"
published: "2026-03-04T13:30:51.000Z"
canonical_url: "https://usecommune.com/n/mamund/a/signal-ping-skill-still-sets-the-ceiling"
markdown_url: "https://usecommune.com/n/mamund/a/signal-ping-skill-still-sets-the-ceiling.md"
chat_url: "https://usecommune.com/n/mamund/a/signal-ping-skill-still-sets-the-ceiling/chat"
source_url: "https://mamund.substack.com/p/signal-ping-skill-still-sets-the"
body_source: "imported"
likes: 3
replies: 1
body_words: 93
---

# Signal ping : Skill still sets the ceiling

\#

This article from [The Register](https://www.theregister.com) works best when read as a case study in applied judgment.

[![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IjQ0!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa06d362d-11ba-45d5-85d6-5415d353b370_8192x4464.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IjQ0!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa06d362d-11ba-45d5-85d6-5415d353b370_8192x4464.jpeg)

The most interesting signal is not volume, but competence. A contributor with enough domain knowledge and training is using AI to identify, test, and report meaningful improvements to curl. The tool does not replace expertise; it amplifies it. This is the version of AI assistance worth paying attention to, where skill directs the machine, not the other way around.

Read the article here:
[https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/02/curl_project_swamped_with_ai/](https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/02/curl_project_swamped_with_ai/)

***Takeaway : AI helps most when it is guided by experience.***

## Discussion (1 reply)

Numbering shows the reply tree: `2.1` is a reply to `2`. Message text is reproduced verbatim as posted.

### 1. Fran Mendez (@fmvilas) - 2026-03-04T21:07:43.165Z

Yeah, that's how I always understood AI. I mean, LLMs. I usually run away from people who promise "Run this AI on autopilot and everything will work automagically". I use AI a lot while coding Commune. It helps immensely. But it's also because I'm very experienced in what I'm doing so I know exactly what it has to do and what it should never do. Interesting article, @mamund, thanks for sharing!