Ideas you can use this week.
A new note every day: an app you might need, a feature worth adding, or a technology explained in plain words. Each one with sources.
Seeing what your software team shipped this week
Every Friday you hear good progress this week, with no way to check it. Here is how to see what actually shipped, in plain language.
AI labels, code counts
How we split work between AI and plain code when reading documents, and why we never let the model do arithmetic.
AI that drafts customer replies in Tamil
A customer writes in Tamil, and the reply takes longer to type than the English one would have. AI can draft it — a person should still approve it.
Moving from Excel to a real system
Excel is a great tool right up to the point where three people are editing three versions of the same file.
Identify a spare part from a photo
A machine is down, and nobody is sure which bearing it needs. A photo that identifies the part beats an hour of searching a paper catalogue.
Open data dashboards for local bodies
A local body already has the data. A dashboard just makes it something residents and officers can actually see.
Job-work tracking with barcodes
Material that leaves for job work and comes back later is easy to lose track of on paper. A barcode at each step fixes that cheaply.
When we let an AI agent work alone, and when we don't
Our one rule for AI agents in production code: autonomy depends on how easily a machine can check the work, and how easily we can undo it.
PPE and safety checks on existing CCTV
Your cameras are already watching the floor for security. Here is how the same feeds can also catch missing helmets and unsafe zones, in real time.
Why every AI answer in government needs a source and a log
An AI answer with no source is an opinion dressed as a fact. In government work, that is not good enough.
Cash on delivery is not a bug
What building for Karaikudi taught us about payments, trust and designing for the town you are actually in.
Measuring AI accuracy before you buy
A vendor's accuracy slide is marketing until you test it on your own documents, calls or images.
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