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AI Basics

Plain-English explainers for core AI concepts, model terms, prompting patterns, and the practical skills people need to use AI well.

Jason Futrill

By Jason FutrillCurated insights on what's new in AI.

Editorial illustration of a creator using AI prompts to generate an app prototype, with code blocks, prompt bubbles and test checkmarks.

Featured

What Is Vibe Coding? Meaning, Tools, Examples and Risks

Vibe coding is a style of AI-assisted software development where you describe what you want in plain language and an AI tool writes or edits the code. It is useful for prototypes, MVPs and learning, but generated code still needs review, testing and security checks.

May 25, 2026 · 16 min read

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Abstract editorial illustration of an AI agent harness connecting tools, memory, approval gates, code, databases and audit logs around a central AI agent.
AI Basics•May 25, 2026

What is an AI Agent Harness? Definition, Components and Examples

An AI agent harness is the runtime and control layer around an AI agent. It connects the agent to tools, context, memory, permissions, workflows, logging, evaluation and human approval so the agent can complete tasks safely and reliably.

17 min readRead
A knowledge worker at a laptop surrounded by AI agent panels, glowing token streams, a cost meter and an outcomes checklist.
AI Basics•May 25, 2026

What Is Tokenmaxxing? The AI Productivity Trend Explained

Tokenmaxxing is the habit of pushing AI token usage as high as possible, often through long prompts, coding agents, parallel workflows and internal usage leaderboards. Used well, it can encourage serious AI experimentation. Used badly, it turns productivity into an expensive token bonfire.

8 min readRead
A clean laptop-style interface showing abstract token streams passing through layered transformer attention blocks.
AI Basics•May 24, 2026

What Is a Transformer Model? The AI Architecture Behind Modern LLMs Explained

A transformer model is an attention-based neural network architecture behind many modern LLMs. It helps models weigh relationships between tokens in context, which is why GPT-style systems, BERT-style systems and other AI tools can handle prompts, examples and language patterns so flexibly.

11 min readRead
AI Basics•May 24, 2026

What Is AI Model Training? How Models Learn Patterns From Data

A beginner-friendly explainer of AI model training, datasets, training examples, pattern learning, and why model quality depends so heavily on data quality.

12 min readRead
What Is RAG in AI? How Retrieval-Augmented Generation Makes AI Answers More Useful
AI Basics•May 24, 2026

What Is RAG in AI? How Retrieval-Augmented Generation Makes AI Answers More Useful

RAG connects an AI model to external documents, databases, files, or knowledge bases so it can retrieve relevant context before generating a more useful answer.

12 min readRead
A central AI agent workbench turning a goal into planned steps, tool calls, observations, and a completed task.
AI Basics•May 23, 2026

What Is an AI Agent? How Agentic AI Can Plan, Use Tools and Complete Tasks

A plain-English guide to AI agents, including how agentic AI can plan steps, use tools, observe results, complete tasks, and differ from a chatbot that mainly responds in conversation.

12 min readRead
A clean editorial scene showing an AI prompt as a structured brief flowing into an assistant response.
AI Basics•May 23, 2026

What Is a Prompt in AI? How to Write Better Instructions for ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini

A beginner-friendly explainer of AI prompts as the instructions, context, examples, constraints, and output format given to tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI assistants.

11 min readRead
Nested circles showing AI, machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI as related concepts.
AI Basics•May 22, 2026

AI vs Machine Learning vs Deep Learning vs Generative AI: What's the Difference?

A clear practical guide to the hierarchy of AI, machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI, with examples, comparisons, limitations, and common misconceptions.

11 min readRead
AI Basics•May 22, 2026

What Is RLHF? How Human Feedback Helps Improve AI Responses

A beginner-friendly explainer of reinforcement learning from human feedback, how reward models work, and why human preference data can improve AI model behaviour.

12 min readRead
Abstract AI evaluation dashboard with test cases, rubrics, and quality checks in a modern workspace.
AI Basics•May 21, 2026

What Are AI Evals? How Teams Test Whether an AI Model Is Working Properly

A beginner-friendly explainer of AI evals, test cases, grading methods, and the pre-deployment measurement habits teams use to make AI systems more reliable.

14 min readRead
A clean editorial scene showing a prompt flowing through diffusion-style image refinement into a finished generated picture.
AI Basics•May 21, 2026

How Do AI Image Generators Work? Text-to-Image AI Explained for Beginners

A beginner-friendly explainer of how AI image generators turn prompts into images, how diffusion-style generation and editing work, and where text-to-image AI is useful or limited.

11 min readRead
A clean laptop interface showing abstract token streams passing through layered transformer attention panels.
AI Basics•May 20, 2026

What Is GPT in AI? What Generative Pre-Trained Transformer Actually Means

GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformer: a transformer-based language model style that is broadly trained before use and generates text from context. GPT is usually an LLM, but it is not the same as all AI, all generative AI, or every transformer model.

12 min readRead
A split editorial visual comparing open source AI components with a closed AI model API.
AI Basics•May 20, 2026

Open Source AI vs Closed AI Models: What Is the Difference and Why Does It Matter?

A practical guide to open source AI versus closed AI models, including open weights, proprietary models, transparency, cost, safety, and business control.

15 min readRead
A polished abstract AI model receiving a live input card and producing an answer card in a clean editorial workspace.
AI Basics•May 20, 2026

What Is AI Inference? The Difference Between Training an AI Model and Using One

AI inference is the process of using a trained model to generate answers, predictions, labels, images, recommendations or other outputs from new input.

11 min readRead
A clean editorial workspace showing example data flowing through an abstract machine learning model into prediction cards.
AI Basics•May 19, 2026

What Is Machine Learning? How AI Learns From Data Instead of Fixed Rules

A beginner-friendly explainer of machine learning as pattern learning from data, including how ML differs from fixed-rule software, how models train on examples, common use cases, main types, benefits and limitations.

13 min readRead
Text, image, audio and video streams converging into one central AI model interface.
AI Basics•May 19, 2026

What Is Multimodal AI? How AI Understands Text, Images, Audio and Video Together

A plain-English guide to multimodal AI, including how models process text, images, audio and video together, where multimodal systems are useful, and why high-stakes outputs still need human review.

12 min readRead
A laptop showing an abstract AI chat interface with message cards and document layers flowing into a finite context window.
AI Basics/ChatGPT•May 18, 2026

What Is a Context Window in AI? Why ChatGPT Can Forget Parts of Long Conversations

A context window is the active token budget an AI model can use for a request or turn. It explains why ChatGPT can seem to forget details in long conversations and why large documents need careful context management.

12 min readRead

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