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MANTIC

Mantic is a structural code search engine for AI agents that provides sub-500ms file ranking across massive code bases without embeddings, vector databases, or external dependencies.

DON'T OUTSOURCE YOUR THINKING

Models may or may not be aligned with what you want to do.

A FIELD GUIDE TO SANDBOXES FOR AI

This post provides readers with a simple mental model for evaluating sandboxes and then walks through the boundaries that show up in real AI execution systems: containers, gVisor, microVMs, and runtime sandboxes.

WEB ROT RISING

Traffic to top websites has fallen by more than 11% in the past five years.

APPLE DESIGNER BEHIND IPHONE AIR IS JOINING THE AI STARTUP HARK

Apple veteran Abidur Chowdhury will become head of design at Hark, a company working on AI models.

NVIDIA DETAILS NEW AI CHIPS AND AUTONOMOUS CAR PROJECT WITH MERCEDES

Nvidia plans to start shipping its Vera Rubin AI chip later this year. The chip, designed to fulfill AI requests more quickly and cheaply than its predecessors, has been in development for three years. Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, discussed the company's surprisingly ambitious work around autonomous vehicles during CES 2026. Mercedes-Benz plans to start shipping cars equipped with Nvidia self-driving technology this year.

BOSTON DYNAMICS ANNOUNCES PRODUCTION-READY VERSION OF ATLAS ROBOT AT CES 2026

Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robot is entering production. The first companies to receive deployments will be Hyundai and Google DeepMind. The final version of Atlas can work autonomously, via a teleoperator, or with a tablet steering interface, and perform a wide array of industrial tasks. It has a reach of 7.5 feet and can lift up to 110 pounds.

WHEN AWS GREW WINGS: THE “BORING” GENIUS OF AMAZON LEO

Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, will launch in the first quarter of this year with a three-tier hardware strategy that will first target the US, UK, Germany, France, and Canada. Customers will be able to choose between three terminals: Leo Nano, which is capable of delivering 100 Mbps; Leo Pro, a standard unit that can push 400 Mbps; and Leo Ultra, an enterprise terminal capable of 1 Gbps. The smaller terminals will help the service scale, while the Ultra terminal signals to traditional broadband providers that Amazon plans to support them rather than bypass them.

FINGER-PRICK BLOOD TEST COULD OFFER EASIER WAY TO DETECT ALZHEIMER'S, RESEARCHERS SAY

Dried blood analysis could be a feasible and scalable way to detect the brain changes linked to Alzheimer's. Researchers have developed a dried blood test that, while less accurate than traditional blood tests, showed good ability to distinguish people with Alzheimer's-related disease. The method is cheaper than traditional testing and could potentially be performed outside of clinical settings. The same technique could potentially be used to detect other conditions, such as multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

THE NEXT TWO YEARS OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Change is the only constant. Keep a finger on technology trends to avoid being caught off-guard by hype or doom. Update skills, diversify abilities, and focus on uniquely human aspects to stay in the loop. There will always be demand for engineers who think holistically, learn continuously, and drive technology toward solving real problems.

THE IMPORTANCE OF AGENT HARNESS IN 2026

An Agent Harness is the infrastructure that wraps around an AI model to manage long-running tasks. It is the system that governs how the agent operates. Agent harnesses turn vague, multistep agent workflows into structured data that can be logged and graded to improve systems. They can be used to validate real-world progress, empower the user experience, and improve models via real-world feedback.

MY 2026 AI BETS (A TIME CAPSULE)

This year, multi-step, tool-using, self-correcting loops will become the default way of working. The gap between those who use AI effectively and those who do not will become more obvious. Organizations will become more streamlined and deal with different risk models. Consultancies that help businesses become 'AI-native' will clean up.

AMAZON ALEXA+ RELEASED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC VIA AN EARLY ACCESS WEBSITE

Alexa+ is now available to everyone through a free early access program. The AI is now accessible as a chatbot on a website, similar to other AI products. Alexa+ will be included with Amazon Prime memberships, which start at $15 per month, or cost $20 per month as a standalone subscription. While still in early access, reports say that Alexa+ is slower than expected and struggles with inaccuracies at times.

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IT'S HARD TO JUSTIFY TAHOE ICONS

macOS Tahoe adds complex icons to every menu item, which the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines from 1992 explicitly says not to do.

STINKING, SPONGY, DARK, HUGE: A SPIDER WEB UNLIKE ANY SEEN BEFORE

Researchers discovered a spider web in a cave in the Balkans - created by two usually-hostile species of spider - that spans about 1,140 square feet.

TRY TO TAKE MY POSITION: THE BEST PROMOTION ADVICE I EVER GOT

You need to consistently demonstrate that you can already handle the role you are trying to grow into.

MINIMAX IS SAID TO PLAN PRICING HONG KONG IPO AT TOP ON AI FERVOR

MiniMax has advised investors that it plans to sell shares at HK$165 apiece.

NOVO NORDISK LAUNCHES WEGOVY WEIGHT-LOSS PILL IN US, TRIGGERING PRICE WAR

The pill costs $149 a month for the starting dose of 1.5mg.

COMPOUND ENGINEERING - THE NEXT PARADIGM SHIFT IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Compound engineering is a fundamental shift in mindset where developers go from code writers to system orchestrators.

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INSIDE ELON MUSK'S OPTIMUS ROBOT PROJECT

Elon Musk has bet Tesla's future and his personal fortune on Optimus. The humanoid robots have the potential to generate infinite revenue for the company and eliminate poverty and the need for work. The company is currently working on the third generation of its robot. This article looks at how the robot is being trained and the challenges that Tesla will need to address before a commercial version is viable.

OPENAI IS TAKING ON APPLE'S APP STORE. IT'S GOT A LONG WAY TO GO

OpenAI is aiming to create an app store that rivals Apple's, but early tests suggest that the company still has a long way to go. ChatGPT's more than 800 million users can now perform various tasks, such as order groceries from Instacart or create a playlist with Spotify, using ChatGPT instead of opening an app. However, the current system requires too many extra steps, making it more complicated to use than traditional apps. Also, many ChatGPT apps only have very basic functionality, steering users back to more capable apps or sites.

MEET THE ‘MAD MAX'-LOVING CEO CHALLENGING NVIDIA WITH A RENEGADE CHIP

Furiosa is a startup that makes neural processing units (NPUs), chips designed to handle the type of computing calculations underpinning AI. The startup's chips can provide similar performance to Nvidia's advanced GPUs with less electricity usage. Mass production of the chips is slated to start this month. This article tells the story of June Pai, Furiosa's founder, and how he founded the company.

NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

The peptide scene exposes regulatory theater, economic desperation, and a philosophical tension about bodily autonomy. While there is some evidence that these compounds work, people are taking on a lot of risk by using untested substances on themselves. The peptide gray market has matured, making it likely unregulatable. This article looks at some of the peptides available on the market and the evidence behind their effectiveness.

BORIS CHERNY'S CLAUDE CODE SETUP

Boris Cherny created Claude Code. In this thread, he details his setup and how he works with Claude Code. Claude Code was created to be very customizable, but Cherny uses a surprisingly vanilla setup. Each person on the Claude Code team uses the IDE very differently.

THE DISAPPEARING MIDDLE OF SOFTWARE WORK

The center of software work is moving. Previously, the model of software work - turning intent into something real - absorbed most of the time, attention, and craft of software teams. AI agents can now produce working code from goals, context, and tasks. As systems improve, the middle will get thinner, and less time will be spent manually translating intent into implementation. Developers will still need to understand the problem, gather the right context from customers and internal teams, and shape the work. Directing and managing agent work will become the craft in this era.

NETFLIX REPORTEDLY WANTS TO KEEP MOVIES IN THEATERS FOR JUST 17 DAYS AFTER IT BUYS WARNER BROS.

Netflix wants to start streaming Warner Bros.' movies just 17 days after their release in theaters. The companies may end up negotiating a larger window of up to 45 days. This highlights the tension between Hollywood and Netflix's priority of bolstering streaming. Netflix expects the Warner Bros. transaction to close in the next 12 to 18 months, if it passes regulatory scrutiny.

MY THOUGHTS ON WATERLOO'S CO-OP PROGRAM

The University of Waterloo has a co-op program that is famous for the opportunities offered and the different countries you could work in. All of the students in every graduating class always have jobs lined up due to the over two years of work experience they gained in the program. This post, written by a student who has been in the co-op for a bit longer than a year, discusses how the program has changed them and helped them. While the program gives students a massive head start on their careers, financial independence, and the chance to live in a new city every four months, it creates a lot of pressure, and students are forced to grow up fast.

WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM (FOR CODING AGENTS)

Agents only become reliably useful when supplied with constraints, context, an oracle, and a loop.

A FIRST LOOK AT THE WEB INSTALL API

The Web Install API introduces a new way to install Progressive Web Apps directly from the browser.

NO IPHONE 18 LAUNCH THIS YEAR, REPORTS SUGGEST

The iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027.

THE CODE REVIEW THAT COST $2 MILLION

Code review consistently fails to catch the bugs that matter most.

MY LLM CODING WORKFLOW GOING INTO 2026

This post presents a disciplined approach to AI-assisted engineering that leverages AI aggressively while staying accountable for the software produced.

DISTINGUISHING YOURSELF EARLY IN YOUR CAREER AS A DEVELOPER

There are a lot of activities like side projects and writing that can help build confidence and make you more hireable over the years.

OPENAI BETS BIG ON AUDIO AS SILICON VALLEY DECLARES WAR ON SCREENS

OpenAI has unified several engineering, product, and research teams over the past couple of months to overhaul its audio models. The company is reportedly preparing to launch an audio-first personal device in about a year. Its new audio model will sound more natural, be able to handle interruptions, and even speak when users are talking. The entire tech industry seems to be headed toward a future where screens become background noise and audio takes center stage.

THE RACE BETWEEN WAYMO, CYBERCAB, AND UBER

One of the big transformations of this year will be robotaxis. Waymo will likely partner with Uber in many locations because Uber owns demand, but over time, Waymo will want to go direct. Cybercab will appear sometime this year and undercut both Uber and Waymo in price. Uber's demand for rides will go down pretty quickly once price drops - Waymo is currently more expensive than Uber, but it is still thriving because people prefer to ride without a driver.

THE MAN TAKING OVER THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER – ONLY TO SWITCH IT OFF

Mark Thomson is now the director general of CERN. One of the first things he will do during his term is to turn off the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to make way for a major upgrade that will make the LHC more precise with its measurements of particles and their interactions. The upgrade will dominate Thomson's five-year tenure. The LHC will reach its end of life around 2041.

STARLINK IS BEGINNING A SIGNIFICANT RECONFIGURATION OF ITS SATELLITE CONSTELLATION FOCUSED ON INCREASING SPACE SAFETY

SpaceX is lowering all Starlink satellites from around 550 km to around 480 km over the course of the year. The shell lowering will be tightly coordinated with other operators, regulators, and USSPACECOM. Condensing Starlink orbits will increase space safety, particularly with difficult-to-control risks like uncoordinated maneuvers and launches by other satellite operators.

2026: THE GREAT ENGINEERING DIVERGENCE

Once coding speed jumps, everything around it becomes a constraint. Developers' throughput is now capped by clarifying requirements, reviewing changes, validating correctness and performance, getting to production safely, and operating the product. The great engineering divergence will be determined by who raises that ceiling end-to-end. Organizations that update their processes to improve the non-code chokepoints will reap the largest rewards this year.

BUILD SOFTWARE. BUILD USERS

Writing a lot of tests doesn't always guarantee software quality. Engineers need to study target users more deeply to really understand how they will use their products. One way to do this is by creating AI users to test software. This can result in a feedback loop that allows engineers to iterate quickly.

HASBRO'S SECRET WEAPON FOR TRAINING ITS NEXT LEADERS: A BOARD GAME

Hasbro's 'Toy Tycoon' is a role-playing strategy game designed for up-and-coming leaders. The game takes a full day to play. Players confront a series of scenarios that test their managerial mettle. The game helps players think through how to manage their company's cash, time, and other resources, and to pivot when the most thoughtful plans fail. Players aim to build a brand, scale a business, and smartly apply market research.

2025 LETTER

Silicon Valley and the Communist Party are similar in that both are serious, self-serious, and completely humorless. They both tend to speak in either a bland corporate tone or a philosophical register. These two forces both aim to increase their centrality while weakening the agency of whole nation-states. This article looks at how the two parties differ in their AI efforts and what that might mean for the future of humanity.

WELCOME TO 2026

A look at technological improvements in the recent past and the achievements they will unlock for humanity this year.

IPV6 JUST TURNED 30 AND STILL HASN'T TAKEN OVER THE WORLD, BUT DON'T CALL IT A FAILURE

IPv6 is not backward-compatible with IPv4, and it doesn't add any major improvements, so there is low incentive to adopt it.

TECHNOLOGY IS CULTURE

If you want to understand how and where technological progress happens, you have to look at cultural drivers, not what academia is accomplishing.