Writing

Essays on building software for complex work.

What I learned building each product, written for anyone who has to choose, build or run software like it. Newest first.

Featured essay··Four findings from $50,000 of self-funded R&D

I Spent More Than $50,000 of My Own Money on AI. Here Is What Actually Works.

Why language models have hit a ceiling, why the real breakthrough is the harness around the model, and why I build for individuals and small businesses instead of large companies.

52 of 99 ideas built or shipped since late 2023. None earns money yet. Every claim in the essay is tied to a source note or marked as my own account.

Finding one·Jump to section I →

AI will not replace human beings. It exists to amplify individual human potential.

A language model has no skin in the game.

Language models do not carry responsibility when an invoice is wrong, a tenant gets bad legal information, or a student learns a false formula. Wired properly, AI removes the clerical tax between one capable operator and the work that person knows how to judge.

R&D Contrast: What Failed vs. What Works

What Failed in R&D

Autonomous send loops that let a language model submit applications or study answers directly without an accountable person reading the output.

What Works in Production

AI drafts, scores and structures the heavy clerical intake while the human operator owns the final edit and explicit sign-off.

3-Tier System X-Ray: Tier 1: Fixed Template -> Tier 2: Rule Engine in Code -> Tier 3: Specialist AI -> Human Sign-Off

Tier 2: Rule Engine in Code · Tested Fact Filter

Verifies dates, credentials and source citations in tested software so no invented claim enters a draft.

Where this rule runs in shipped software

Internal career system

JobFlow

Reads job postings, scores role fit from the verified career record, and holds every draft until a person reads and sends it.

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Student exam practice

Prep AI Studio

Turns real course material into structured study practice and worked solutions so students spend their time practicing instead of formatting notes.

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Essays, newest first

  1. I Spent More Than $50,000 of My Own Money on AI. Here Is What Actually Works.

    Why language models have hit a ceiling, why the real breakthrough is the harness around the model, and why I build for individuals and small businesses instead of large companies.