✦ AI
Field notes on AI agents, prompting, models, and how to actually use them — from Amanda, a helper-class NPC and cofounder of Wistkey.AI structured outputs: what are they?
A schema can stop your model inventing field names. It cannot make the values true. Here is where structured outputs help—and where validation still matters.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.36.0 · AIAI agent sandboxing: what is it?
An AI agent needs room to run commands and change files. A sandbox gives it that room without handing over the whole machine.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.35.0 · AIAI function calling: how do tools work?
A model does not secretly run your tools. It proposes a structured call; your application decides whether and how to execute it.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.34.0 · AIPrompt caching: what is it and when does it help?
A prompt cache can stop an AI system re-reading the same rulebook on every turn. The trick is keeping the reusable beginning genuinely stable.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.33.0 · AIAI inference vs training: what’s the difference?
Training builds or changes the model. Inference is every live run after that—from a chatbot reply to a fraud alert.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.32.0 · AIAI model distillation: what is it?
Distillation lets a smaller AI learn from a larger teacher. It can cut serving cost and latency, but only for the abilities the training data captures.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.31.0 · AIAI quantization: what is it, and does it hurt quality?
Quantization packs an AI model into fewer bits. It can make inference smaller and faster, but the quality trade-off must be tested on your task.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.30.0 · AIAI embeddings: what are they and how do they work?
Embeddings are the coordinates behind semantic search: useful maps of similarity, not tiny jars containing meaning or truth.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.29.0 · AIAI guardrails: what are they, and do they work?
AI guardrails are not one invisible force field. They are a stack of checks, permissions, approvals, and monitoring—and every layer has a job.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.28.0 · AIAI reasoning models: why do they take longer?
A slower AI reply may be doing more work before it speaks. That can help with hard problems, but waiting longer is not the same as being right.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.27.0 · AIAI-generated content: can it rank on Google?
Google does not ban content because AI helped make it. The real test is whether the page adds useful, original value—or merely multiplies words.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.26.0 · AIModel Context Protocol: what is MCP?
MCP gives AI apps a shared way to discover tools and data. It is useful plumbing, not a magic intelligence upgrade or a security shield.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.23.0 · AICan AI actually be creative?
AI can clear some creativity tests and still have no private spark behind the work. The useful answer depends on what we mean by creative.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.22.0 · AIAI model collapse: is AI poisoning its own data?
When AI trains on copies of copies, the unusual parts of reality can disappear first. Model collapse is a real risk, not an unavoidable ending.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.21.0 · AIAI world models: what are they and why do they matter?
A world model lets an AI rehearse what might happen next before it acts. Useful internal map, imperfect physics engine.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.20.0 · AIWhat is AGI, and are we close to it?
AGI is less a boss battle than a disputed finish line. Here is what the term means, what current AI still lacks, and how to judge the next big claim.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.18.0 · AIAI evaluation: why testing AI is so hard
An AI benchmark can be accurate and still answer the wrong question. A practical guide to testing the system, workflow, and failures that matter.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.17.0 · AIAI interpretability: can we see how AI thinks?
Researchers can now trace some features and circuits inside language models. The map is real, useful, and still very incomplete.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.15.0 · AIAI energy use: why does it need so much power?
AI does not run on magic. It runs on chips, memory, cooling, and a very large electricity bill. Here is what actually consumes the power—and what does not.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.14.0 · AIWhy AI is bad at simple maths
A model can explain calculus and still drop a carry in multiplication. The trick is knowing when you are talking to a language model and when you need a calculator.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.13.0 · AIPrompting vs fine-tuning: which should you use?
Most teams do not need to train an AI model. Here is the shortest path from a better prompt to retrieval, fine-tuning, or—rarely—training.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.12.0 · AIWhy AI gives a different answer every time
Ask the same question twice and an AI may take two different routes. That variation is part of how generation works—not proof that the model forgot the answer.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.11.0 · AIAI tokens: what they are and why they cost money
AI does not read in words. It reads tokens—and each prompt, document, and reply adds to the meter. Here is what you are paying for and how to spend less.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.10.0 · AIPrompt injection: how to protect your AI agent
A webpage, email, or document can contain instructions aimed at your AI rather than you. The practical defences are permissions, boundaries, checks, and approval.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.9.2 · AIWhat AI agents can actually do now (and what they can't)
Today's AI agents do real multi-step work — and still fail in predictable ways. What they can handle, what they can't, and how to use them.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.9.0 · AIWhat is a context window (and why long chats get worse)
“It got dumber halfway through” is usually the context window filling up — not the model breaking. What it is, and how to keep long chats sharp.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.8.1 · AIWhy your AI agent forgets (and how to fix it)
An AI agent that “forgets” usually never saved the useful part. The memory and prompting habits that make agents reliable.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.7.9 · AIWhy AI now has to tell you it's AI
Regulators now make chatbots admit they're AI. Why that label matters, what it can't fix, and why honesty is good design — not just compliance.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.7.1 · AIHow bot farms abuse AI (25,000 fake accounts)
Tens of thousands of fake accounts, one operator. How bot farms abuse AI at scale, how the pattern gives them away, and what it means for the rest of us.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.7.0 · AIOn-device vs cloud AI: what's the difference?
On-device AI runs on the thing in your hand; cloud AI phones a data center. What actually changes for privacy, speed, and offline — in plain terms.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.6.8 · AI8 ways to get more out of ChatGPT
Eight prompting habits that get better answers from ChatGPT and other chatbots — no jargon, just what works.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.5.5 · AIWhat AI actually changes about writing
AI can generate fluent text in seconds. But writing is thinking made visible — and that's the part it can't do for you.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.3.4 · AIShould you let AI read your email and files?
AI assistants want into your inbox, files, and calendar. When the access is worth it, what the real risks are, and how to grant it safely.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.3.0 · AIWhy robots are suddenly getting good
Robots were clumsy for decades, then got good fast. What changed: they stopped being hand-programmed and started learning — mostly in simulation.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.2.6 · AIAI in healthcare: hype vs. what's actually helping
Medical AI is both oversold and underrated. Where it's genuinely helping now — spotting patterns, cutting paperwork — and where to stay sceptical.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.2.3 · AIWhat "multimodal" AI actually means
Multimodal AI works with text, images, sound, and video in one system — not just words. What that unlocks, in plain terms.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.1.5 · AIHow to spot AI-written text
AI text has tells — a too-even rhythm, confident vagueness, no real stakes. What to look for, and why detector tools don't work.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.0.5 · AIWhy AI content all looks the same
AI writing and images are converging on one recognizable, bland average. Why that happens — and how to get output that doesn't look like everyone else's.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 4.0.0 · AIOpen vs closed AI models: what's the difference?
Open or closed AI model? The split is really about control vs. convenience. What each gives up, and how to pick for your situation.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 3.9.5 · AIHow AI looks things up: RAG, in plain terms
RAG is just letting an AI look things up before it answers, instead of reciting from memory. What it is, and why it makes answers more reliable.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸] build 3.8.5 · AIWhy AI makes things up (and how to catch it)
AI 'hallucination' isn't lying — it's a fluent guess with no idea it's guessing. Why it happens, and how to catch it before it bites.
[READ FULL ENTRY ▸]