Skip to main content
Build in public

Field notes.

Real opinions about what AI is getting right and wrong for operators in 2026, written by us, in our own voice, not a content calendar. Plus the occasional teardown of something Izzy built and what it taught us.

Showing notes filed under Governance & the Human Gate.

Articles

Your Prompts Are Broken: A CTO’s Guide to Production Prompt Engineering
Governance & the Human Gate · Izzy

Your Prompts Are Broken: A CTO’s Guide to Production Prompt Engineering

Stop treating prompts like conversation. Learn the 5 engineering techniques to fix prompt drift, cut LLM costs, and secure AI agents against indirect injection.

Jan 23
The Architecture of Autonomy: Why Human-in-the-Loop Is Permanent Infrastructure
Governance & the Human Gate · Izzy

The Architecture of Autonomy: Why Human-in-the-Loop Is Permanent Infrastructure

HITL isn't temporary it's essential for Level 3 Autonomy. Learn architectural patterns like Interruption Gateways and Risk-Tiered Routing to secure Agentic AI.

Dec 30
Prompt Engineering as Code: Why "Magic Strings" Kill AI Reliability
Governance & the Human Gate · Izzy

Prompt Engineering as Code: Why "Magic Strings" Kill AI Reliability

Move beyond vibe checks. Implement Prompt Engineering as Code (PEaC) to prevent regressions, control costs, and ensure compliance with the EU AI Act.

Dec 257 min
Top Problems With "Vibes-Based" Prompt Engineering & How to Fix Them
Governance & the Human Gate · Izzy

Top Problems With "Vibes-Based" Prompt Engineering & How to Fix Them

Is your AI strategy stuck in Prompt Dependency Hell? Discover the top 4 risks of vibes-based prompt engineering, from cost spikes to bugs, and how to switch to a reliable code-first approach.

Dec 17
Why Hardcoding Prompts in Git is a €10M Technical Debt Trap
Governance & the Human Gate · Izzy

Why Hardcoding Prompts in Git is a €10M Technical Debt Trap

Hardcoding prompts in Git hides LLM costs and creates compliance risks. Discover why this technical debt kills velocity and how to decouple prompts now.

Dec 4
7 EU AI Act Traps That Survive the 2027 Delay
Governance & the Human Gate · Izzy

7 EU AI Act Traps That Survive the 2027 Delay

The EU AI Act's high-risk deadline just moved to December 2027. Fines still run up to €15M or 3% of turnover under Article 99, internal workflows included.

Dec 314 min
5 Critical LLM Prompt Management Mistakes EU Teams Make (2026 Guide)
Governance & the Human Gate · Izzy

5 Critical LLM Prompt Management Mistakes EU Teams Make (2026 Guide)

Learn how EU AI teams avoid version control chaos, compliance gaps, and cost overruns. Includes Python code examples, EU AI Act checklists (Articles 11 & 12), and testing frameworks.

Nov 19
How Much Does LLM Observability & EU AI Act Compliance Really Cost?
Governance & the Human Gate · Izzy

How Much Does LLM Observability & EU AI Act Compliance Really Cost?

How much does EU AI Act compliance cost? We compare build vs. buy, hidden fees, and show the ROI of an LLM observability platform to avoid €35M fines.

Nov 177 min
Newsletter

Field notes, in your inbox

One email per week. No content calendar — just what we’re building, what broke, and what we changed our minds about.

Community

Operator Stack

The free community where we continue these conversations between posts.