I have been working on AI projects since 2017 primarily as the token software engineer in a group of AI researchers. My roles have consisted of taking models trained by research teams and integrating them into applications that real people can use. These experiences have given me a degree of exposure to how AI is built, developed, and run that most software engineers haven't had. That said, not having a formal background in AI or working much on the model development side there has been a gap in my understanding about how the tools that we use work. The time has come for me to close that gap.

Since the death of Twitter I've been trying to figure out what my relationship with social media looks like. It's felt off for a while but I've never been able to quite put my finger on why. At the time--and continuing today--it was quite in vogue to place blame on the platforms themselves but I'm not so sure anymore.