What we write. What we read. What we give away.
Short notes from the field, practical guides you can run this week, and the outside sources we actually trust.
Latest notes
From the blog
Industry·Jul 10, 2026AI search is a citation problem
AI Overviews and AI Mode changed how buyers research. The sites that win are the ones an answer engine can safely cite. Here is the checklist.
Industry·Jul 10, 2026Voice agents are becoming front-desk systems
Real-time multimodal models are moving voice agents beyond scripts. The business case is intake, routing, and follow-up with clear consent.
Industry·Jul 1, 2026Measure AI referrals like a channel
45% of consumers now ask AI tools for local business recommendations. How to see that traffic in analytics, your lead records, and intake questions.
Guides
Playbooks you can run this week
Startup90 minutesLehigh Valley Business Startup Checklist
A local-first checklist for registering a Pennsylvania business, getting tax accounts in order, and checking city-level requirements in Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton.
Preview guide
AI Operations45 minutesAI Readiness Checklist
A practical way to choose the first AI workflow worth testing before buying tools, hiring help, or automating the wrong work.
Preview guide
AI Operations50 minutesAgent Workflow Starter Map
A mapping guide for turning one recurring business process into a scoped agent workflow.
Preview guide
Recommended reading
What Alex actually reads
A short list we revisit. Primary sources over commentary, practitioners over pundits.
6 sources
- Anthropic Engineeringanthropic.comHow the people building Claude think about prompt caching, tool use, and agent evaluation.
- OpenAI Researchopenai.comPrimary source on model capabilities, safety research, and benchmark releases.
- Google DeepMind Blogdeepmind.googleFrontier research writeups that rarely make it into vendor marketing summaries.
- Simon Willison's Weblogsimonwillison.netDaily, skeptical, hands-on coverage of LLM releases with runnable examples.
- Interconnects by Nathan Lambertinterconnects.aiResearch-grade analysis of the open-source model ecosystem and what the numbers actually mean.
- Latent Spacelatent.spaceTechnical, builder-focused coverage of AI engineering, agents, models, infrastructure, and how leading teams are actually building with AI.
AI resource library
Where we check the frontier
The public sources we use to compare models, track benchmarks, and read research firsthand. The same links we send clients who ask how we know.
10 sources
- Arena AIModel comparison · arena.aiCompare frontier models through public head-to-head testing and leaderboard-style results.
- Artificial AnalysisModel benchmarks · artificialanalysis.aiTrack model intelligence, speed, pricing, latency, and provider performance.
- Hugging FaceOpen AI ecosystem · huggingface.coBrowse models, datasets, Spaces, apps, and open-source AI releases.
- OpenRouterModel discovery · openrouter.aiExplore and compare many LLMs and providers through one model directory/API layer.
- Hugging Face Daily PapersResearch discovery · huggingface.coFollow trending AI papers without manually digging through research feeds every day.
- arXiv AI / ML / CL FeedsRaw research · arxiv.orgGo straight to recent AI, machine learning, and language research submissions.
- OpenAI CookbookImplementation reference · cookbook.openai.comOfficial examples for agents, multimodal workflows, evals, guardrails, optimization, and API patterns.
- Anthropic Prompt Engineering DocsPrompting reference · docs.anthropic.comOfficial Claude prompting, evaluation, consistency, and guardrail guidance.
- Epoch AIAI progress tracking · epoch.aiData-backed analysis on AI trends, model capabilities, benchmarks, compute, scaling, and infrastructure.
- METRFrontier model evaluation · metr.orgResearch on advanced AI capabilities, long-horizon tasks, autonomous agents, and model risk evaluation.
AI tools worth knowing
What we run and recommend
Tools we use in real work or recommend when someone asks where to start. Not sponsored, no affiliate links, same as everything else on this page.
10 tools
- ChatGPT + CodexAI assistant and coding agent · chatgpt.comUse ChatGPT for strategy, writing, research, files, images, analysis, and problem-solving, with Codex for building, editing, and improving software projects.
- ClaudeWriting and reasoning · claude.aiExcellent for long-form writing, careful analysis, coding help, file work, and high-quality reasoning.
- Google GeminiGoogle ecosystem AI · gemini.google.comA useful general AI assistant, especially for users already working across Google products.
- PerplexityAI search · perplexity.aiA fast AI answer engine for research, current information, and source-backed discovery.
- NotebookLMSource-grounded research · notebooklm.googleGround AI in your own documents, links, notes, and sources for summaries, questions, ideas, and research workflows.
- MagnificCreative media generation · magnific.aiA high-end AI creative platform for generating, enhancing, upscaling, and transforming images, video, audio, 3D, and visual assets.
- SunoAI music · suno.comCreate songs, lyrics, vocals, instrumentals, stems, remixes, and production-ready music ideas from prompts or creative controls.
- Wispr FlowAI voice productivity · wisprflow.aiTurn spoken thoughts into polished writing across apps, helping people write, reply, create, and work faster without typing everything.
- NotionAI workspace · notion.comOrganize projects, CRM notes, client work, docs, knowledge bases, workflows, and AI-assisted planning in one flexible workspace.
- RaycastAI command center · raycast.comUse AI, shortcuts, extensions, quick actions, snippets, app launching, and automation from a fast command-center interface.
Rather skip the reading?
Thirty-minute working call. We walk through what fits your situation and leave you with a plan.