Dillon McClendon

Resources

How AI actually works, in plain terms.

Free notes and guides on what these systems are, what they can and can't do, and what they cost. Start with the basics; the details follow.

The library

Everything else

Shorter guides on the parts that decide whether an AI system works: what it's given to read, what it's allowed to do, and how you check it.

  • Kind
    Mental model
    Reading time
    4 min read

    AI and Agents in Plain Terms

    Working definitions of artificial intelligence and AI agents, the corrections those definitions usually need, and what an agent can and cannot do.

  • Kind
    Mental model
    Reading time
    6 min read

    What a Model Actually Is

    A plain-language account of what an AI model is made of, where it came from, what it does when you use it, and the vocabulary that comes with it.

  • Kind
    Checklist
    Reading time
    2 min read

    An AI Agent Builder Checklist

    A concise preflight checklist for deciding whether an agent idea has the context, capabilities, and controls needed to become a real system.

  • Kind
    Mental model
    Reading time
    3 min read

    Agents in One Paragraph

    A compact mental model for understanding what an AI agent is, what it can do, and where its behavior comes from.

Your work

Have a process in mind?

The Reality Check is forty-five minutes, free, on your actual work. You leave knowing what's worth automating, what isn't, and why.

Start a conversation

Where do you write email?

The subject and the questions come with it, whichever you pick.

Your email app Gmail Outlook on the web

Or write to