Half-open laptops: New badge of AI coders on the move
▼ Summary
– Tech workers like Geoff Chan keep laptops open in public to let AI coding agents continue running, even while doing tasks like untying children’s skates.
– Alison Kaizer delayed boarding a plane and walked on with her laptop open to finish a Claude task, later apologizing to a fellow passenger.
– High school student Arav Jain carries his open laptop between classes to keep AI agents coding for his startup, ignoring friends’ questions about his backpack.
– Users employ strategies like keeping the laptop barely ajar or using Mac’s “caffeinate” command to prevent sleep while walking.
– The behavior is common in airports, offices, and schools, with some feeling embarrassed but noting they are not alone, especially in tech hubs like San Francisco.
The parents at the ice rink can’t help but stare at Geoff Chan. He sits on a shelf, laptop cracked open, one hand untying his daughters’ skates while his eyes dart back to the screen. “Is it done?” he wonders aloud.
At 39, Chan is the head of product at Raven. AI and a heavy user of Claude Code and OpenAI Codex. During his daughters’ weekly skating practices, he codes with AI tools outside the rink. The problem? These sessions can run long. When practice ends, parents flood the changing room, and Chan joins them with his laptop ajar so the AI agent keeps working. “I have to put it up on a shelf,” he told Business Insider. “I’m untying my girls’ skates while looking back like: Is it done?”
Some parents dodge him. Others try to peek at his screen. Many just stare.
As AI agent mania sweeps the tech world, coders like Chan are pushing for longer, uninterrupted sessions. Many of these tools run locally or depend on WiFi, so closing the laptop would kill the progress. That explains why you see your AI-pilled friend walking around with an open computer: their agent is still running.
The cracked-open laptop has become a meme. Even OpenAI weighed in with a TikTok winking at those in the know. Business Insider asked eight open-laptop-walkers about their habits. The settings range from airports and offices to high school hallways.
Alison Kaizer, a 39-year-old partner at Golden Ventures, was usually the first person on the plane. This time, she was the last. Deep in a task with Claude while waiting for a flight, she held out until the final moment, walking on with her laptop open and only shutting it when she sat down. “Kind of embarrassing,” she admitted. It wasn’t her first time. She’s left the house with her computer open until the WiFi cut out. On the plane, she felt she had to acknowledge it. “I looked over my shoulder to the person behind me and said, ‘Sorry, I’m using Claude.’ They laughed, so there was an understanding immediately.”
Arav Jain, a 15-year-old 10th grader from Bentonville, Arkansas, walks the high school halls with his open laptop. He’s building a startup with his 24-year-old cousin, using Codex, Claude Code, and OpenCode , paid for with seed money from his parents. Jain runs his agents during class to avoid wasting tokens. When class ends but his agent isn’t finished, he carries his open computer between rooms. Friends ask why he doesn’t put it in his backpack. “I’m like, ‘I got agents running,’” Jain said. “I’ve got to keep shipping software.”
In office hallways, the open laptop is also common. Andreas Kruszakin-Liboska, a 23-year-old UX designer from The Hague, walks to meetings with his laptop ajar. He takes care to keep the screen at a slight angle, not a full 90 degrees. “It’s just a tiny bit,” he said. “You’re not rude at the meeting, with it fully open.”
There are technical workarounds. Typing “caffeinate” in a Mac terminal keeps the machine active, and third-party software can do the same. You can also adjust display and sleep settings. But for those who don’t want to fiddle with commands, a single finger under the hinge works just fine.
Will Meinhardt, a 25-year-old head of sales for Mach 1, has only open-laptop-walked once. At a conference, he took selfies with companies on the floor and wanted Claude Code to scan the photos, identify the companies, and load them into a CRM. So, on his walk to Crunch Fitness for a workout, he put the agent to work. “I was personally kind of embarrassed by it,” Meinhardt said. “I didn’t want anyone looking at my screen, so I was being discreet about it.” His strategy: keep the laptop open just a crack, barely noticeable.
David Whipps, a 37-year-old product manager from Melbourne, turns his laptop into a “little taco.” He was building a dream recording app at a café, sending his Claude agent on a 30-minute coding task right before the shop closed. He sat at a bus stop to confirm he could make it home before preparing his laptop taco.
Researcher Rebecca Bultsma, 44, from Calgary, leaves her laptop as a “clamshell” in her bag while walking through the airport or waiting on the train platform. Sometimes, she leaves it cracked open on the passenger seat of her car. She gets looks all the time. “I think people think I’m whatever the equivalent of an iPad kid is for a middle-aged woman,” Bultsma said.
A move to the Bay Area might reduce those stares. Tim Monzures, a 40-year-old former Apple engineer now working on his own, often takes the bus around San Francisco. His agent isn’t done when he needs to catch it. “I’ve got a family, so I need to get home,” he said. Before leaving, Monzures connects his laptop to his phone’s network, keeps it ajar, and runs to the bus. “I may look silly carrying a laptop, but I’m not the only one,” he said. “I’ve seen others, so I feel good.”
(Source: Business Insider)