Should I Text Them Back?

1/**
2 * Should I Text Them Back?
3 * Pattern: cascade. Cheap first, escalate only when unsure.
4 *
5 * Tier 1 reads only the message. If Jev is confident, we're done in one small
6 * call. If not, tier 2 re-asks with the full context (history, vibes, receipts).
7 * If *that* is still a coin flip, the fallback leaf takes over. Here it's the
8 * group chat; in production it's where you'd call an LLM or a human.
9 */
10import { cascade, chain, choice, step, tier } from "jevchain";
11import type { Example } from "./types";
12 
13const verdict = choice("Should the recipient reply to this text message?", {
14  reply: "Replying is kind, safe and likely to lead somewhere good.",
15  "leave-on-read": "Replying would restart something unhealthy, or the message doesn't need a reply.",
16});
17 
18const decide = cascade("should-i-reply", {
19  title: "Should I reply?",
20  tiers: [
21    tier("gut-check", { title: "Gut check", ask: verdict, minConfidence: 0.7, state: "{{input.message}}" }),
22    tier("full-context", { title: "Full context", ask: verdict, minConfidence: 0.5 }),
23  ],
24  fallback: step(
25    "ask-the-group-chat",
26    () => "Screenshot it and send it to the group chat. This is above Jev's pay grade.",
27    { title: "Ask the group chat" },
28  ),
29});
30 
31export const textThemBack = chain(
32  "text-them-back",
33  decide,
34  step("verdict", (r) =>
35    r.resolvedBy === "fallback"
36      ? r.output
37      : r.answer.choice === "reply"
38        ? `Reply. (decided by ${r.tier}) Keep it short, you're busy and mysterious.`
39        : `Leave them on read. (decided by ${r.tier}) Put the phone in a drawer.`,
40  ),
41);
42 
43export const example: Example = {
44  slug: "text-them-back",
45  title: "Should I Text Them Back?",
46  tagline: "A three-tier decision system for a one-word question.",
47  pattern: "Cascade (cheap → thorough → fallback)",
48  lesson:
49    "Ask the cheapest question first and only escalate when confidence is low. Each tier can see more context; the fallback can be anything, like an LLM, a human queue or your friends.",
50  chain: textThemBack,
51  file: "text-them-back.ts",
52  inputs: [
53    {
54      label: "u up?",
55      value: {
56        message: "u up?",
57        context: { theirLastMessage: "5 weeks ago", timesTheyCancelledPlans: 4, howIFeel: "I finally stopped checking my phone" },
58      },
59    },
60    {
61      label: "Birthday wishes",
62      value: {
63        message: "Happy birthday!! Hope you have the best day, we should get lunch soon 🎂",
64        context: { relationship: "old coworker", lastSpoke: "a few months ago, on good terms" },
65      },
66    },
67    {
68      label: "The ex, again",
69      value: {
70        message: "hey. saw something that reminded me of you",
71        context: { relationship: "ex", howItEnded: "they moved across the country without telling me", monthsSince: 8, howIFeel: "mostly fine?" },
72      },
73    },
74  ],
75};