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The Arkham Times Field notes on technology, judgment, and what lies beyond the map.
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Field Notes

Essays and commentary from the edge of the map.

Writing on architecture, AI, and transformation, and the judgment required when systems stop behaving as expected.

Latest Field Notes

The Human in the loop is not a strategy
Field Note
May 11, 2026 11 min read

The Human in the loop is not a strategy

"Human oversight" is doing a lot of work in AI architecture diagrams. Too much, I think. It usually shows up as a reassuring little box near

When the consumer is a machine
Field Note
May 1, 2026 7 min read

When the consumer is a machine

Event contracts used to be guidance. With agents on the other end, they're the thing the system actually runs on.

AI development & Engineering clarity
Field Note
Apr 2, 2026 7 min read

AI development & Engineering clarity

A few years ago, most engineering organizations were constrained by the same thing: writing code was expensive. Not just in budget terms. Expensive in attention. In coordination. In

Alfred does its homework before writing a line of code
Field Note
Mar 9, 2026 4 min read

Alfred does its homework before writing a line of code

There’s a particular kind of frustration engineers know well: you pick up a Jira ticket and the description reads something like “Fix the thing from the meeting.” No context. No requirements/details.