Nisrine's partner lost an argument and asked ChatGPT who was right. We laughed. Then we thought about it. Then we built Piece.
We were working on a completely different app. Most of the ideas were terrible. Then Nisrine (mentioned that after a small argument, her partner had gone to ChatGPT to check who was right.
We laughed (Nisrine's partner did not, he now wants shares in the company). Then we stopped, because it actually made perfect sense. Mid-argument, you're absolutely certain you're right. So is the other person. No referee. No one to say "hang on, let's think about this."
But here's the thing, this isn't about the big fights: nobody reaches for an app when things are genuinely hard. The small stuff, though? Who forgot to call. Who said what about dinner. Who left the thing in the place. That's fair game.
Piece was never meant to be therapy. The goal was simpler: you said this, I said that, here's what holds up and what doesn't. Someone apologises. You move on with your evening.
We showed it to friends. They all used it. They said it was smart and genuinely helpful, until we told them we'd biased the results towards our favourite friends, just to piss them off. This is not true, but that would have been so fun.
Piece is an impartial AI referee for the small fights. Each person records their side of the argument – one at a time, on the same phone. The app weighs both perspectives fairly, names who's more in the wrong, and prompts that person to apologise. A round takes five minutes, start to finish. You pick the tone: serious with a Counsellor voice, or playful with Witty, Sarcastic, or Theatrical delivery.
Most couples don't need therapy – they need someone to say "you're the one who should go first." Piece is that nudge.
Your audio is transcribed and discarded. Transcripts live only as long as the round. Nothing is stored, nothing is trained on.
Arguments are stressful enough. Piece can be serious when you need it, or funny when you don't. You pick the tone.
Friends, colleagues, and two people who care far too much about product, technology, and why humans do the things they do. We live in Sydney, Australia – a city where people will argue passionately about coffee, parking spots, and whether it's called a parma or a parmi. If that doesn't qualify us to build an argument app, nothing does.