Latency is a product problem, not merely a model problem. Opus 5.5 produced solid work, but parallel tasks routinely took more than 10 minutes with little visible feedback. Claire's experience suggests that a faster agent with slightly weaker output may feel more useful than a smarter one that disappears while working.
traditional AI models function sequentially—listening and then responding—whereas its new model aims for simultaneous input processing and response generation, akin to a phone call.
What does matter is how long humans are waiting for an answer, and as products like AI wearables become more of a thing, the speed of interaction, particularly for voice — which will be a function of token generation speed — will have a tangible effect on the user experience.
5mo ago
Underscored — save the words that stop you in your tracks.
