Oct 01, 2026

Better AI Starts With Better Verification

Halluminate, a Y Combinator S25 company, builds RL environments and benchmarks that teach AI models to do non-coding knowledge work, starting with financial services. In this fireside with YC Partner Jon Xu, co-founders Jerry Wu and Wyatt Marshall trace their pivot from evals to training environments, explain why verification quality matters more than task volume, and outline a roadmap toward multi-agent simulated companies. They also address reward hacking, alignment as an industry-wide responsibility, and what they look for in new hires.

Oct 01, 2026

The Caveman Prompting Challenge

James Barney, Head of Forward Labs at MetLife, discusses the operational challenges and strategic considerations for AI enablement in a large enterprise. Key topics include FinOps approaches to model selection based on cost, speed, and accuracy, optimizing LLM token usage through 'caveman prompting' and the proposed 'CaveBench' benchmark, and navigating volatile model release pricing. The conversation delves into measuring AI's value beyond cost, differentiating R&D from production token spend, and establishing robust AI governance using policy as code. A significant shift from traditional UIs to chat-based interfaces is explored, alongside the critical 'latent shopper problem' – the challenge of serendipitous data discovery in an AI-driven, query-focused world.

Oct 01, 2026

What Is Jev? The AI Model That Doesn't Generate Text

Jev is a System 1 AI model from TypeSafe that skips text generation entirely, returning calibrated probabilities for fixed-option questions in a single fast request. This explores how it works, how it is trained with reinforcement learning for calibrated decisions, how its probabilities drive software thresholds and guardrails, and how it can complement LLMs in workflows.

Oct 01, 2026

AI Makes Games Worse?

Piero Molino, CEO of Studio Atelico, argues that AI should be a foundational game mechanic enabling new experiences rather than a cost-cutting shortcut. He covers on-device multimodal engines built on small fine-tuned models, the economics of cloud inference, artist rights, open source in the game stack, and what skill means in an era of coding agents.

Sep 30, 2026

Inside OpenAI DevDay: Superhuman Computer Use, Decisions API, and the AI Cloud — Ari & Nikunj

OpenAI has unveiled significant advancements in its AI agents and developer APIs, transforming Computer Use into a self-debugging system capable of superhuman speeds. Key innovations include multimodal interfaces, the Agents API for building on OpenAI's harness, and a new API stack featuring async tool calling, UltraFast inference, and the rapidly developed Decisions API for fast classification. These advancements, coupled with robust caching and context compaction, pave the way for an "AI cloud" with higher-level primitives for developers.

Sep 30, 2026

The Future of the Grid: How AI Transforms Power System Planning

Microsoft Research introduces GridSFM, an open foundation model designed to accelerate power grid analysis. By combining open data, machine learning, and physics-based modeling, GridSFM provides millisecond-level approximations of AC Optimal Power Flow (ACOPF) solutions, enabling faster scenario evaluation, planning, and research for increasingly complex energy systems.