LLM-based application I’d like to exist: Web browser addon for firefox that has blocklists of websites, when you try to visit one you have to have a conversation with Claude about why you want to visit it in this moment, convince Claude to let you bypass the block for a limited period of time for your specific purpose (let you customize the claude prompt with info about why you set up the block in the first place). Wanting to use for things like news, social media where it’s a bit too much to try to completely block, but I’ve got bad habits around checking too frequently. Bonus: be able to let the LLM read the website for you and answer questions without showing you the page, like is there anything new about X.
Includes a “device constitution” that you set; if you visit a website, Claude will judge whether the page follows that written document, and if not it will block you, and the only way past it is winning a debate with it about why your website visit is in-line with your device constitution.
I found it too annoying but some of my friends liked it.
Currently you need to be on the beta list though, since it costs Gemini API credits to run (though a quite trivial amount)—if you (or anyone else) DMs me an email I can add you to the list, and at some point if I have time I might enable payments such that it’s generally available.
I feel that it would be too easy for me to lie to the LLM in order to convince it to let me access the websites, because in that moment, my goal would just be to gain access however I can. ColdTurkey app which I use has really good protections so I can’t turn it off or uninstall it once it’s locked.
There are already apps which force you to pause or jump through other hoops if you open certain apps or websites, or if you exceed some time limit using them. E.g. ScreenZen.
Yep, I’ve used those, with some effectiveness but also tend to just like get used to it over time, form a habit of mindlessly jumping through the hoops. Hypothesis here is that having to justify what you’re doing would be more effective at changing habits.
LLM-based application I’d like to exist:
Web browser addon for firefox that has blocklists of websites, when you try to visit one you have to have a conversation with Claude about why you want to visit it in this moment, convince Claude to let you bypass the block for a limited period of time for your specific purpose (let you customize the claude prompt with info about why you set up the block in the first place).
Wanting to use for things like news, social media where it’s a bit too much to try to completely block, but I’ve got bad habits around checking too frequently.
Bonus: be able to let the LLM read the website for you and answer questions without showing you the page, like is there anything new about X.
I built this a few months ago: https://github.com/LRudL/devcon
Definitely not production-ready and might require some “minimal configuration and tweaking” to get working.
Includes a “device constitution” that you set; if you visit a website, Claude will judge whether the page follows that written document, and if not it will block you, and the only way past it is winning a debate with it about why your website visit is in-line with your device constitution.
I found it too annoying but some of my friends liked it.
I’d like to use this from your description, but tough to trust / understand without a README!
There’s a version now that was audited by Chrome Web Store, if that’s enough for you: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/objective/dckljlpogfgmgmnbaicaiohioinipbge?authuser=0&hl=en-GB
Currently you need to be on the beta list though, since it costs Gemini API credits to run (though a quite trivial amount)—if you (or anyone else) DMs me an email I can add you to the list, and at some point if I have time I might enable payments such that it’s generally available.
I was also thinking recently that I would love this to exist! If I ever had the time I was going to try hacking it together in cursor
I made something like this, works differently though, blocking is based on a fixed prompt: https://grgv.xyz/blog/awf/
I feel that it would be too easy for me to lie to the LLM in order to convince it to let me access the websites, because in that moment, my goal would just be to gain access however I can. ColdTurkey app which I use has really good protections so I can’t turn it off or uninstall it once it’s locked.
There are already apps which force you to pause or jump through other hoops if you open certain apps or websites, or if you exceed some time limit using them. E.g. ScreenZen.
Yep, I’ve used those, with some effectiveness but also tend to just like get used to it over time, form a habit of mindlessly jumping through the hoops. Hypothesis here is that having to justify what you’re doing would be more effective at changing habits.
Initial version for firefox, code at https://github.com/william-r-s/MindfulBlocker, extension file at https://github.com/william-r-s/MindfulBlocker/releases/tag/v0.2.0
Anyone wants to coordinate on that?