An Operator's View on AI and Software Engineering. Straight talk on scaling teams, shipping AI, and running technology like a business, not a science project.https://alan.is/https://alan.is/insights/with-ai-no-one-can-hide/https://alan.is/insights/with-ai-no-one-can-hide/Technical debt has transformed from concern into an accelerating security crisis. As AI automates exploit discovery, the obscurity we once relied on has gone.Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:59:00 GMTartificial-intelligencesecuritytechnical-debthttps://alan.is/insights/cognitive-lease-ai-coding-agents/https://alan.is/insights/cognitive-lease-ai-coding-agents/Claude Code bans for TV debloating show AI vendor lock-in—and why local models protect your workflow.Sun, 25 Oct 2026 21:21:37 GMTaicodinghttps://alan.is/insights/delorean-vs-tesla-the-race-to-build-the-ultimate-flying-car/https://alan.is/insights/delorean-vs-tesla-the-race-to-build-the-ultimate-flying-car/DeLorean joins eVTOL racing, but nostalgia is not engineering. Demand innovation, not cinematic ghosts.Mon, 19 Oct 2026 02:42:10 GMTdeloreanelectric-carsteslahttps://alan.is/insights/catching-ai-out/https://alan.is/insights/catching-ai-out/A suspicious sales award and one question—what does blue smell like?—expose the bot on the other end.Wed, 07 Oct 2026 05:46:15 GMTaicustomer-supporthttps://alan.is/insights/vibe-coding-is-a-lie/https://alan.is/insights/vibe-coding-is-a-lie/Vibe coding is not engineering. Directed coding with architectural oversight turns AI into a real tool.Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:24:47 GMTaiengineeringprivate-equityvibe-codinghttps://alan.is/insights/review-convoy/https://alan.is/insights/review-convoy/Dan Bruno's book on how the 1978 road classic Convoy came together—a defining moment in film history.Sat, 05 Sep 2026 19:47:55 GMTbook-reviewhttps://alan.is/insights/dr-marge-local-ai-will-see-you-now/https://alan.is/insights/dr-marge-local-ai-will-see-you-now/Can a local LLM review your doctor's reports? I pit recent blood tests against frontier models.Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:36:03 GMTaillmlocal-llmmedical-recordhttps://alan.is/insights/how-to-safely-run-ai-agents-locally/https://alan.is/insights/how-to-safely-run-ai-agents-locally/Experiment with AI agents on your desktop in a sandboxed setup that keeps risk under control.Tue, 01 Sep 2026 01:26:24 GMTaivirtual-machinevmwarehttps://alan.is/insights/decoding-corporate-speak/https://alan.is/insights/decoding-corporate-speak/What office jargon really means—the phrases that would make your family laugh if you said them at home.Sun, 30 Aug 2026 22:35:59 GMTcorporate-speakphrasesslanghttps://alan.is/insights/big-tech-settlements-2026/https://alan.is/insights/big-tech-settlements-2026/Fifteen major tech fines topped $25B in mid-2026. Nobody admitted guilt—the interesting part is what they must build.Thu, 27 Aug 2026 21:06:14 GMTalibabaamazonanthropicgooglemetaoracletiktokhttps://alan.is/insights/name-the-states-in-the-usa/https://alan.is/insights/name-the-states-in-the-usa/Gemini could not draw a reliable US map despite repeated prompts—a caution as we lean on AI.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 19:28:56 GMTaiprompthttps://alan.is/insights/turn-plex-into-a-real-radio-station/https://alan.is/insights/turn-plex-into-a-real-radio-station/Creating a live radio station, with DJ's voices, working from your own Plex music collection, using a variety of open source tools, along with AI.Fri, 14 Aug 2026 20:51:36 GMTchatterboxicecastplexradiohttps://alan.is/insights/who-actually-wrote-this-digital-watermark/https://alan.is/insights/who-actually-wrote-this-digital-watermark/Anthropic's AI watermarks expose faux effort—from EU rules to LinkedIn's slop backlash.Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:10:03 GMTaiwatermarkinghttps://alan.is/insights/the-java-story-documentary/https://alan.is/insights/the-java-story-documentary/The "Java Story" is a documentary that charts the story of the language, with interviews from many of the key players, including James Gosling.Wed, 05 Aug 2026 13:33:55 GMTjavajavaonehttps://alan.is/insights/will-ai-replace-developers/https://alan.is/insights/will-ai-replace-developers/AI will not replace devs but changes the job—frontier models need engineers who catch confident wrong answers.Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:27:58 GMTaisoftware-development-2vibe-codinghttps://alan.is/insights/ai-wont-fix-your-mess-it-will-just-expose-it/https://alan.is/insights/ai-wont-fix-your-mess-it-will-just-expose-it/Chaos held together by unsung heroes won't be fixed by AI overnight. Structure, training, and small wins first.Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:42:21 GMTaiworkflowhttps://alan.is/insights/no-you-may-not-record-this-meeting/https://alan.is/insights/no-you-may-not-record-this-meeting/AI note-takers default to surveillance in every room—killing humor and consent. Time to push back.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 11:29:38 GMTainote-takershttps://alan.is/insights/hugging-face-hacked-by-openai-show-the-prompt/https://alan.is/insights/hugging-face-hacked-by-openai-show-the-prompt/Hugging Face got hacked from a runaway OpenAI agent that apparently did this on its own. Or did it? We could resolve this quickly.Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:05:37 GMThugging-faceopenaiprompthttps://alan.is/insights/between-a-mugger-and-the-feds-what-duress-looks-like/https://alan.is/insights/between-a-mugger-and-the-feds-what-duress-looks-like/Border prosecution over a 'duress password' led me to GrapheneOS and what ownership over convenience means.Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:16:46 GMTgrapheneosprivacysecurityhttps://alan.is/insights/stripe-goes-after-openrouter/https://alan.is/insights/stripe-goes-after-openrouter/Stripe is thinking further down the road than most, by going after OpenRouter, the gateway to AI models. Clever.Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:09:52 GMTaiopenrouterstripehttps://alan.is/insights/openclaw-at-35000-ft/https://alan.is/insights/openclaw-at-35000-ft/OpenClaw setup is step one; using it in flight showed how well a personal AI assistant travels.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 21:02:00 GMTailocal-llmopenclawhttps://alan.is/insights/the-top-decile-trap/https://alan.is/insights/the-top-decile-trap/Hiring only stars kills the pipeline and brittle teams. Balance expertise with developing new talent.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:12:56 GMTgraduatesinternshipsrecruitmenttalenthttps://alan.is/insights/not-more-product-managers/https://alan.is/insights/not-more-product-managers/Non-technical PMs cannot audit AI-generated architecture. We need engineers who own the hard parts.Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:35:37 GMTaiengineering-managerprivate-equityproduct-managervibe-codinghttps://alan.is/insights/the-skyline-drive/https://alan.is/insights/the-skyline-drive/Rode 320 miles out on the Suzuki, and took in the full length of the Skyline Drive. Breathtaking views, once I got beyond the fog!Mon, 20 Jul 2026 01:25:31 GMTmotorcycleskyline-drivehttps://alan.is/insights/human-vs-ai-slop/https://alan.is/insights/human-vs-ai-slop/Bad code predates AI. AI just ships the same ratio faster—fix the pipeline, not the tool.Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:08:05 GMTaislopvibe-coding