AI is at an inflection point. The latest advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI, and other deep learning techniques are redefining the boundaries of what technology can do, while economies of scale and breathtaking amounts of venture capital funding lead to a democratization of AI resources for companies of any size. At the same time, bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and real-work production software engineering is more challenging than ever. With new computing paradigms, what is the best possible user experience? How can applications benefit from AI capabilities? How can we make AI-enabled software production-ready?
Gradients & Grit is a new publication exploring the intersection of AI, software engineering, and UX. We are diving into the latest research and academic foundations of deep learning, exploring the relationship between AI and UX, and demonstrating how AI capabilities can create better products and experiences. We are determined to make our content as actionable as possible to help engineers improve their products while teaching the underlying concepts to build a better understanding.
While AI is the hot topic at the moment, we look beyond the hype and build toward the core belief that AI will become a commodity integrated into every application in the future. We are here to help engineers navigate the ever-evolving AI landscape by providing practical insights into building better AI-enabled applications.
Gradients & Grit
One of the ways that I believe people express their appreciation to the rest of humanity is to make something wonderful and put it out there.
With Gradients & Grit, we are building a publication at the intersection of AI, software engineering, and UX. We go beyond the dated content marketing approach and present fully-integrated products to showcase the possibilities of AI without the annoying feeling of a salesperson breathing down your neck.
As software engineers, we know that staying in the loop with the latest advancements in AI is harder than ever. While AI can make software more accessible and powerful than ever before, the momentum must come from engineers who can implement systems designed and built for production use cases.
Good software needs more than solid engineering, though. Solving AI adoption also means designing products that are easy to use and understand for different audiences. To understand UX patterns and best practices, we are conducting user research and usability tests to validate our assumptions and ensure you are receiving real-world input.
To make sure Gradients & Grit is the best possible version it can be, we depend on your feedback to improve the publication continuously, which is why we are handling it as any other product, measuring usage and iterating on the design and content.
Finally, we are designing our products to give back to the community every cycle, even beyond the content we publish. We are committed to sharing all knowledge, context, and the final products to help teams build better AI-enabled applications.
Our first issue
In our first issue, we explore alternative ways to interact with LLMs and cover the prompt ideation process from divergent to convergent thinking. PromptCanvas is a spatial prompt interface based on the familiar whiteboard experience. With PromptCanvas, we cover architectural decisions for applications integrating real-time completion streaming, adding abuse protection, and budget management for production readiness. We also conducted multiple usability tests to validate the user experience and identify areas for improvement with real users.
About the authors
Having graduated from TUM in Management and Technology, Bruno Scheufler knows the ins and outs of scaling businesses and tech. His past work at Hygraph, helping the engineering org scale from pre-seed to Series B showcases his expertise in technology and organizational growth. With a practical approach and a deep understanding of AI intricacies, Bruno is adept at bringing software engineering principles into the AI ecosystem.
Rooted in media informatics from LMU and specializing in human-computer interaction, Tim Weiß seamlessly combines the tech and user experience worlds. His roles in product development have honed his skills in listening to users and translating feedback into functional features. Additionally, his work at Ecomply.io has provided him with valuable insights into GDPR and data privacy, a crucial knowledge base in the AI field today.
From countless side projects to products and customer validation, Bruno and Tim have consistently risen to tech challenges with precision and dedication. Their symbiotic expertise in infrastructure, AI, UX, and organizational development anchors Gradients & Grit.
If you are curious about the topics outlined above, please consider subscribing to the newsletter to be the first to know about new issues and other updates. If you have any open questions, suggestions, or feedback in general, please reach out to us!
In the coming weeks, we will dive deeper into integrating LLMs into your applications, best practices for making your AI-enabled software production-ready, and more. Stay tuned!