Research, observations & things learned
Technology,
with the
notes attached.
A place to work through what we’re learning about AI and software. Technical explanations, thoughts from the work, and a closer look at the news.
Open the notebookSimple rules. Unexpected structure.
The reference desk
Choose the model.
Understand the machine.
Two guides to keep close when you’re exploring open models and running AI locally.
Capabilities · Licensing · Deployment
Open-source AI models
Compare model families, understand open-weight licensing, and find a starting point for evaluation.
Read the model guideMemory · Hardware · Local inference
Local LLM machines
Compare machine classes, memory limits, and the practical tradeoffs of running models on your own hardware.
Read the hardware guide01 / The long view
All technical guidesGet into
the details.
02 / In the notebook
What has our
attention.
New developments, questions worth asking, and our thoughts on where the technology is going.
All articlesFalcon ASR Targets Arabic and Emirati Transcription
TII's Falcon ASR focuses on Arabic and Emirati speech. Read the benchmark scope, demo availability and practical evaluation limits.
LightOnOCR-3 Adds Layout and Chart Extraction
LightOn's three OCR models add document regions, image descriptions and chart data. How to evaluate the output before using it in retrieval.
Meta Releases Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full
Meta's Muse Wonder models target sustained agent work. What is available now, what Active Memory means, and what teams should test.
Anthropic's Cyber Verification Program Now Has Three Tiers. Which One to Apply For
Anthropic split its Cyber Verification Program into Defense, Red Team and Specialized tiers. Who qualifies, review times, the retention catch and Bedrock.
Claude Haiku 5.5: A 90% List-Price Cut, a 75% Real One, and Five Ways to Get a 400
Haiku 5.5 lists at a tenth of Haiku 4.5's price; Anthropic says about 75% less in practice. The gap, the 400s after switching, and Sonnet 5.5 vs Luna.
Gemini API Preview Shutdowns: Veo 3.1 Moves to Omni, Voice Follows in November
Veo 3.1 and Omni previews may end from October 22, TTS and Live previews from November 17. Cost per clip, voice replacements and the January price rise.
03 / Follow your curiosity
04 / Behind the notebook
People to
think with.
S5 Labs is where Joshua Wendt and Nick Flowers share learnings, thoughts, and current news. The writing is the starting point for a conversation.
More about usWe also work on AI systems, automation, and software.
How we can help