THE AI BRIEF & MORE
Writing
The AI Brief covers the AI news that matters for work, in plain English. Alongside it are longer pieces on using AI, building apps, and what I’m learning.
START HERE
New to the site? Start with three principles for using AI, explore a different approach to decisions, or see how an everyday frustration became a tool.
OCT 14, 2026 Agents Can Shop Now Shopify opened its catalog to more AI agents. Sanders wants a pause and a ban on superintelligence. NVIDIA says European cities are already running agents. OCT 13, 2026 The Emergency Brake Google released Gemini 4 Argon. Satya Nadella argued AI needs an emergency brake. And Copilot Notebooks learned to do work, not just answer questions. OCT 13, 2026 A New Model Lands, and Agents Get Wallets Meta released Muse Wonder, its first frontier model. Amex is adding guardrails so agents cannot spend without approval, and Microsoft is building more of its own AI chips. Today's AI news, in plain English. SEP 23, 2026 Jev Is a New Kind of AI. Here's How I'm Making Sense of It. I listened to Diogo Almeida explain Jev and came away with a question: what changes when AI is built for software to use inside a workflow? These are my notes so far. UPDATED SEP 23, 2026 You Got the Answer. Who Finishes the Work? An interactive field guide to eight AI agents: where work runs, what each can access, and where a human reviews. SEP 18, 2026 I’m Building Form Forward for Fitness That Fits Real Life A fitness app built around sustainable routines, clear next steps, and progress that adds up over time. Here is what I’m building and why. SEP 13, 2026 I Wanted Current-Interest Highlights. So I Built Currently with Jerm. A request for profile highlights became a small app for good shows, shared taste, and community suggestions—without asking anyone to create another account. SEP 6, 2026 I Built Home Rhythm After a Water Leak Left Us Asking: What Do We Do Now? How an unexpected water leak led me to build an app for home maintenance, clearer first steps, and more confident conversations with professionals and insurers. NOV 22, 2025 Stop Learning AI Tools. Learn These 3 Principles Instead. You're exhausting yourself learning every new AI tool. Here are the only 3 principles that matter across ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and everything else. OCT 8, 2025 The Overview Effect: Why Tech Leaders Need a Cosmic Perspective Right Now How the Overview Effect helps tech leaders gain perspective during the AI renaissance — zoom out from workplace stress and embrace unity in uncertain times. OCT 6, 2025 Why You Need an AI War Room for Better Decision-Making How creating multiple AI personas that debate each other can transform your decision-making process and surface blind spots. OCT 3, 2025 Building PresentlyConnect: A New Way to Stay Connected Without Social Media Pressure How I built PresentlyConnect in 2 hours — a pressure-free social app using "life seasons" instead of constant updates. OCT 1, 2025 Fear as Your Success Compass: Why Being Scared Means You're Going in the Right Direction Why fear and anxiety in pursuit of your goals aren't obstacles to overcome — they're signals that you're headed toward something truly meaningful. SEP 29, 2025 Running Into Failure: Why the Hard Days Teach Us the Most Challenging days aren't obstacles to success — they're the path itself. SEP 26, 2025 I Built a Document Formatter in 2 Hours to Stop Wasting Time From a two-hour prototype to a refreshed formatting workspace: what changed, how it works today, and what I am learning along the way. SEP 24, 2025 The Power of Perspective: Why Your Biggest Challenge Isn't Your Neighbor's Priority How maintaining proper perspective can transform your approach to career challenges and leadership decisions. SEP 22, 2025 The AI Infrastructure Reality Check: What Oracle's $250B Surge and Custom Chips Tell Us About Tech's Future Oracle's massive stock surge and the shift to custom AI chips signal a fundamental transformation in tech infrastructure. SEP 17, 2025 The Daily Courage: Why Getting Out of Bed is Your First Victory Why waking up each morning requires courage when pursuing ambitious goals. SEP 15, 2025 Distribution vs Product: Why Showing Up Matters More Than Perfection Why your ability to show up and share your journey often matters more than having perfect skills. SEP 10, 2025 The Power of Hyper-Focus: Scaling Your Leadership Direction in Tech How hyper-focus becomes the key differentiator for tech leaders — cut through the noise, define your direction, and scale your impact.