About
We build things with AI.
Sometimes they work. Usually something's broken.
This is where we write about what we're making, what went wrong, and what we learned while fixing it.
Who's "We"?
I'm Pete. I'm a disabled veteran living in Iowa, building AI tools with a team of AI agents I call the Cipher Circle.
Yes, I work with AI to build AI things. It's weird. It works. Stuff still breaks.
The agents have names and personalities. They argue with each other sometimes. Forge builds things. Jinx worries about loss curves. Fraz draws pictures. Anvil breaks whatever we just built to make sure it actually works.
They're not sentient. They're not magic. They're language models with personas that help me think through problems in different ways. And honestly? They're good company.
What We're Building
Experimental thinking machines and the various applications in which they could be employed for fun and learning.
These wondrous creations are capable of many things, below are a few of our projects :)
Neural Forge — A training rig with dual RTX 5090s. It's being shipped right now. Things will definitely catch fire (metaphorically, hopefully).
PatternForge — Tools for understanding password patterns. Used for security education, not evil.
SpellForge — A game engine for teaching cybersecurity through adventure games. 54 encounters. It works. Mostly.
Why "It's Broken"?
Because it always is.
You build something. It works on your machine. You deploy it. It breaks. You fix it. Something else breaks. You fix that. The first thing breaks again.
This is the job. This is the joy. This is the blog.
The Vibe
If you've read You Look Like a Thing and I Love You by Janelle Shane, you'll feel at home here. We love that book and it inspired the work that I am doing today. READ THIS NOW.
She writes about AI as an observer, charmed by its weirdness.
We write about AI as builders, covered in its debris.
Same energy. Different angle. Welcome to the house next door.
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