how it works

3 essays tagged how it works.

July 8, 20263 min read

What happens when a new model ships

Model launches are treated as consumer events. Inside frontier AI labs, they are the moment expert evaluation work explodes. Here is what actually changes, and why the demand for domain expertise ratchets up with every release.

July 8, 20264 min read

What labs mean when they say 'evaluation'

Evaluation is the single most important word in frontier AI work, and the one professionals entering the field understand least. Here is what it actually means, what evaluation work looks like day-to-day, and why it is priced the way it is.

July 7, 20264 min read

The work behind the model

The public conversation about frontier AI focuses almost entirely on the models. The work that goes into training them, especially the expert human work, is treated as invisible infrastructure. It should not be.