Alex Pooley's Thought Collection

AI Needs an Intent Layer

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

AI tools go straight from prompt to code, and the code becomes the source of truth. But code is noisy and incomplete. There’s a missing layer between conversation and code — a model of what the system is and why — that would anchor decisions and stop signal from degrading over time.

Maximize Your AI Quota

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Claude subscription is a fixed cost. Whether you use it once a day or a hundred times, you’re paying the same. As a solo dev, AI is your team — and an unused quota means your team is sitting idle.

AI Revolution: A Second Chance

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The AI revolution feels like the dot-com boom. I watched that one from the sidelines — too young, too far away. This time I have the skills, the experience, and the position to act. I’m not missing it twice.

Human Time vs Machine Time

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

AI has flipped who’s waiting. The human now sits idle while the machine works. The natural response is to context-switch, but that’s a symptom of tools designed for machines, not humans. The real fix is designing for human time.

About

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’m Alex Pooley, a software developer with over 25 years of experience based in Perth, Western Australia. I’m currently a Staff Backend Engineer at GitLab.

This blog is a stream of consciousness — observations, half-formed ideas, and things I’ve noticed while building software. Take it for what that’s worth.

Happy to engage in discussion. Reach me on X.