The AI App Store Is Here: How MCPs Just Changed Everything The moment AI stopped being a chatbot and became a true teammate.

open.substack.com/pub/subtlema...

Your team’s biggest technical debt isn’t in your codebase.

It’s in the unwritten knowledge trapped in people’s heads.

Every time someone asks “How do we do X again?” you’re paying interest on that debt.

Document the answer once. Save everyone the interruption forever.

How AI can help 👇

Making AI Work in Data Teams: A Practical Guide Create an Environment Where AI Adoption Flourishes.

See also: open.substack.com/pub/subtlema...

The easiest way to fail at AI adoption: Try to revolutionize your entire workflow on day one.

The easiest way to succeed: Pick one tedious 10-minute task and let AI handle it for a week. Build from there.

Most people think too big and quit too early. Start embarrassingly small.

We're at a unique moment where AI is fundamentally changing how we build software. The barrier between idea and implementation has never been lower.

Key tips if you want to try:

- Use Composer Mode for codebase-aware conversations
- Enable Agent Mode for better code quality
- Start with a clear plan
- Commit early and often

Results? Built three projects in two weeks (AI research assistant, Google Books integration, dashboard), then launched btw-vergleich.de. When our team at work tried it, one engineer complained about "ticket fatigue" from closing too many tickets 😅

After a 4-year coding hiatus, I discovered #Cursor - an AI code editor that transformed how I build things. Instead of writing code, you have conversations about what you want to build. The mental overhead of development just... vanished.

How I Built Three Apps Without Writing Code: My Journey with Cursor From a 4-year coding hiatus to launching multiple projects in weeks: How AI-powered development is transforming the way we build software

From "I don't code anymore" to building three apps in two months. Here's how #AI changed my relationship with #coding 🧵

Watching my wife's reaction to #Cursor went from skeptical after my explanation to 'oh wow!' after a 2-min demo. Reminded me: #AI tools often seem too good to be true until you see them in action. Skip the pitch - just show it working.

It's a reminder that in AI adoption, sometimes the smallest wins create the biggest ripples. What small AI wins have you discovered in your work?

The key insights:
• Start with achievable tasks
• Let adoption grow organically through team curiosity
• Focus on immediate value over complexity
• Empower natural champions to share their experiences

Take our recent experience: Using AI-powered development tools, we turned 30-minute prototypes into valuable internal tools. Nothing revolutionary - just practical solutions to everyday problems.

💡 The Power of Small AI Wins

I've been exploring how teams successfully adopt #AI, and there's a consistent pattern: the biggest impacts often start with the smallest steps.

Take our recent experience: Using AI-powered development tools, we turned 30-minute prototypes into valuable internal tools. Nothing revolutionary - just practical solutions to everyday problems.

Sure, #nvidia stock took a bump and that might indicate this specific stock was overvalued. But the whole AI sector took a massive step forward in the last few days as now everyone sees what is possible at a fraction of the expected costs.

It's curious when people claim "the #AI bubble popped". Nothing popped. A bubble is something getting hyped and promised value not materializing (hello NFTs 👋). #Deepseek R1 lead to a correction on the possible economics of AI, but didn't change its potential and usefulness(on the contrary, even).

Which AI to Use Now: An Updated Opinionated Guide Picking your general-purpose AI

Every few months, I write an opinionated guide for general purpose users about which AI to pick, especially for newcomers.

Here is my brand new one, which I actually had to update multiple times in the few days I was writing it. Things are changing fast. open.substack.com/pub/oneusefu...

#Cursor #AI continues to impress me. I was able to build a fully functional website and deploy it to Netlify without writing a single line of code or terminal command (agent mode is insane!). The whole thing took less than 90 minutes. It’s a new world for software/web development.

OpenAI needs to settle with ScarJo to bring Sky's voice back. If AI assistants take over my life at least let them have a sexy voice!

Making AI Work in Data Teams: A Practical Guide Create an Environment Where AI Adoption Flourishes.

Read more in my latest article:

What worked best? Having team champions naturally emerge to share their experiences. From our resident #ChatGPT expert improving stakeholder communications to our creative AI mascot competition (complete with amusing design quirks) - it's about building a collaborative learning environment.

Starting small proved essential. Our initial ambitious attempt at AI-generated SQL wasn't quite successful, but that's fine. We pivoted to practical applications: code review assistance, email drafting, technical documentation. The team has responded well to this measured approach.

🧵 Leading our team's #AI adoption journey has been quite interesting. The key insight? Let it develop naturally through curiosity and collaborative learning. Our best progress came when we stopped forcing adoption and created space for organic growth.

Making AI Work in Data Teams: A Practical Guide Create an Environment Where AI Adoption Flourishes.

Success in your team's AI adoption comes from organic growth through experimentation and peer learning. Key strategies:

- Create space for experimentation
- Start with small, achievable tasks
- Build momentum through team champions
- Focus on hands-on learning

Read more in my latest newsletter.

While AI coding tools won't replace developers and still struggle with complex codebases, they're fantastic for rapid prototyping from scratch. They remove the initial friction of getting started and improve efficiency dramatically.

It’s been a true game-changer: I built 4 prototypes in record time using Cursor's Composer - 2 personal projects I'd been putting off forever, plus 2 internal tools at work that each took just 30 mins to create. They're basic but prove the concept is worth investing in. 🚀

My September Moment When it clicked and I re-awakened the builder I used to be

Just read this fascinating piece about returning to coding after years away from it. Like the author, I've spent years delegating tech projects as an analytics manager. That changed when I discovered Cursor ("The AI Code Editor") over Christmas break.

Reasoning, Multimodality, and Agents: Three developments every data professional needs to know Exploring how OpenAI's o1, Advanced Voice Mode, and autonomous systems are reshaping the future of data analysis and decision-making

In my last newsletter, I discussed this trend toward multimodality and the shift to AI agents. Let me know what you think about these developments.

It's impressive how much AI value comes from the product itself, not just the underlying model, especially for individual users. As @emollick.bsky.social likes to say: even if model progress stops today, we'll continue making advances with existing technology for the next 10 years.