Lab note 002 // field note
Why AI Digests Suck
Most AI digests are feed-shaped paste. The zine should act like an editor with taste, context, and a machete.
The common failure
A feed is not a digest. A pile of links is not editorial judgment. Most automated digests fail because they summarize everything with the same dead-eyed importance and force the reader to do the actual thinking afterward.
If the machine cannot say what is worth reading, what can be skipped, and why a specific human should care, it has produced homework, not a briefing.
The zine posture
Lead with plain English. Then give the personal relevance. Then give the verdict. Raw excerpts belong behind a hatch, not sprayed across the deck like a PDF exploded.
The goal is not maximum coverage. The goal is useful signal with a little blood in it.
The house rule
Releases and changelogs are useful, but they should not crowd out what people are thinking, building, arguing about, and discovering in the field. The interesting stuff goes up top. The software update conveyor belt can live downstairs.