ChatGPT reveals the system prompt for ChatGPT Tasks OpenAI just started rolling out Scheduled tasks in ChatGPT, a new feature where you can say things like "Remind me to write the tests in five…

Rogue has a 1000LB Club. Find your cumulative total of a 1 Rep Max Bench/Squat/Deadlift in one hour I’m not particularly interested in actually doing it. You have to record a video with a bunch…

Ooooo, this looks great. Studioworks is business management software for creative studios. It’s made by my pals Jessica Hische and Chris Shifflet. I freaking love seeing good people make good honest…

Simon Willison And SWYX Tell Us Where AI Is In 2025 I recorded this podcast episode with Brian McCullough and swyx riffing off my Things we learned about LLMs in 2024 review. We also touched on…

I could do a deep dive into the UX of login codes, but I’ll do my best to keep it short. If your product texts/emails login codes, the experience better be amazing. Bad The text/email n…

I just got a Squire Bass VI, an instrument I didn’t know existed until developer/musician Tim Hilton mentioned it to me in a LinkedIn message (of all places!). I had a few holiday/birthday gi…

LLMs shouldn't help you do less thinking, they should help you do more thinking. They give you higher leverage. Will that cause you to be satisfied with doing less, or driven to do more? — Alex…

Codestral 25.01 Brand new code-focused model from Mistral. Unlike the first Codestral this one isn't (yet) available as open weights. The model has a 256k token context - a new record for Mistra…

Steward Brand has talked about Pace Layering for a long time: Pace layers provide many-leveled corrective, stabilizing feedback throughout the system. It is in the contradictions between these layers…

Hey folks. After a busy and productive fall & holiday season, kottke.org will be closed this week for some much-needed rest, relaxation, and recharging. I will be back next week, ready to g…

I was using o1 like a chat model — but o1 is not a chat model. If o1 is not a chat model — what is it? I think of it like a “report generator.” If you give it enough context, and tell it…

On the way to Berlin for the Eno premiere with Gary Huswit, Brendan Dawes and also looking forward to seeing Keir Whitaker. 🙌 #firsttripin25…

Generative AI – The Power and the Glory Michael Liebreich's epic report for BloombergNEF on the current state of play with regards to generative AI, energy usage and data center growth. I lear…

Agents Chip Huyen's 8,000 word practical guide to building useful LLM-driven workflows that take advantage of tools. Chip starts by providing a definition of "agents" to be used in the piece - i…

Phi-4 Bug Fixes by Unsloth This explains why I was seeing weird suffexes during my experiments with Phi-4 the other day: it turns out the Phi-4 tokenizer definition as released by Microsoft had…

I paged through this illustrated retrospective of Hayao Miyazaki’s work at the bookstore a few months ago and it was gorgeous. “The book is artistic biography, aesthetic treatise, creativ…

A British company is selling a wristwatch that’s a shrunk-down replica of the Apollo Guidance Computer interface that the Apollo astronauts used to maneuver their spacecraft to the Moon a…

Did we all know this already? “Chip is a nickname for a guy named after his dad. Skip is a nickname for a guy named after his grandfather. Trip is a nickname for a guy named after his dad A…

The Art of the Snack Solo. “And now I am into my stride. A fig is plucked. The cornichons emerge. The cheeses multiply. Little packets of oatcakes are opened. Maple syrup is experimentally…

While these might look like they are AI-generated, these floating orb-structures created by Masakatsu Sashie are actually oil paintings. You can check out more of his work on Instagram an…

33 Ways To Improve Your Life, Japanese Style. Including “be happy in your own company”, “find your inner otaku”, “take inspiration — but with respect”, and “be reliable”.…

My fiddle player friend Darin sent me this documentary about GB Grayson, which I enjoyed: The documentary talks about how very few people even recognize the name despite all of recorded tunes essentia…

Jessica Hische & Chris Shiflett are launching a company called Studioworks that makes business management software for creative studios. 💬 Join the discussion…

I wore my Olukai Mahana slippers all day every day for 3 years. They finally got beat up enough that when my family asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I said that I’d welcome a new pair of slipp…

Back in 2016, I wrote about The Most Relaxing Song in the World, an ambient track by Marconi Union called Weightless. Today I learned the band’s record label hosts a 24/7 streaming video of…

Learning from Finland’s success in combatting homelessness. “It is the result of a sustained, well-resourced national strategy […] which provides people experiencing homelessness with i…

Hello, Folks. Here's issue #14 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. This is a weekly newsletter that I'm publishing here on the blog as well. You should subscribe if haven't alre…