Understanding AI

Resources

How this stuff actually works, in plain English, written to be sent round at work

Most explanations of AI are either hand wavy or written for people who already understand it. These are the in between: the mechanism explained properly, the honest bit about what it will not do, and nothing you have to take on faith. They are not tied to any one tool, so they hold whichever one you have been given.

What people actually mean when they say AI is thinking

Not consciousness, something far more boring and far more useful. It used to answer straight off the top of its head, one word at a time. Now it writes itself a rough draft, reviews it, sometimes goes off and checks something, and only then answers you. What that changes, and the honest bit: it is checking its own work with the same brain that produced it.

Fundamentals

More on the way. If there is something about AI you have nodded along to without ever getting a straight answer on, tell me on Instagram and it will probably become the next one.

The tool specific guides

Claude Code

The guides for building things yourself, from your first website to running fleets of agents.

Copilot

Getting something genuinely useful out of the AI tool your work chose for you.