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.
Articles

How to Build a Production LLM Observability Stack in 2026
A practitioner's guide to the winning stack: Tracing (Langfuse), Cost Control (LiteLLM), and Governance (PromptMetrics). Includes a Week 1 to Quarter 1 implementation plan.

The 4 AI Loops of Death That Kill EU Startups Before Series A
Spending €2k–€50k/month on LLMs? Discover the 4 hidden loops destroying startup margins and compliance readiness, and the 90-day plan to fix them before the EU AI Act hits.

LLM Behavioral Drift: Why Your Observability Stack Fails the EU AI Act
Is your LLM drifting into sycophancy? Discover the "hidden personality" risks exposed by 2026 research and how to meet Article 9 monitoring requirements.

Why Your LLM App Breaks at Scale: 7 Architecture Mistakes (2026)
Is your LLM bill eating your runway? Discover the 7 critical architecture mistakes killing AI startups in 2026 and the production-ready stack to fix them, from semantic caching to EU AI Act compliance.

Why AI Benchmarks Are Lying to EU Engineering Leaders (And How to Prepare for August 2026)
The Remote Labor Index proves AI agents fail 96% of real jobs. For EU CTOs facing the August 2026 AI Act, this gap is dangerous. Here is the data your board needs to see.

The EU AI Act Compliance Crisis: 5 Misconceptions Putting Startups at Risk
48% of AI startups aren't ready for the EU AI Act. Discover the 5 compliance myths risking your runway, from the "low-risk" trap to the August 2026 deadline.

Open Source vs. Enterprise LLM Observability: The EU CTO’s Guide
EU CTOs: Why your "free" open source LLM observability setup could cost €200K in hidden compliance expenses. A practical TCO guide for the AI Act era.

The High Cost of Silent AI Updates: Preventing $10k Weekends
From schema drift to runaway cost loops, silent model updates are a liability. Here is how defensive engineering and "Golden Sets" protect your enterprise AI.

ChatGPT Ads Are Here: Why Enterprise AI Strategy Must Shift
OpenAI launched ChatGPT ads on Feb 8. Learn why enterprise AI strategy must shift to verify. even on ad-free tiers—and how to detect supply chain bias.
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.
Operator Stack
The free community where we continue these conversations between posts.
Join free