Nick Karnik | Blog
Nick Karnik
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01
Writing
6 essays
Notes on AI, search, and building software.
Writing about what I learn building software. Filter by topic below.
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AI
Engineering
Product
Security
No. 001
How to Tell If a Model Is Good Enough
Learn why accuracy is a trap, and how precision and recall reveal what really matters when evaluating machine learning models.
May 10, 2026
Engineering
7 min read
No. 002
The Modern Attack Surface: How Computers Get Compromised
An overview of how the attack surface has evolved in modern computing, and the ways computers and accounts get compromised today.
Jan 26, 2026
Security
17 min read
No. 003
A Practical Way to Think About RAG
A grounded mental model for Retrieval-Augmented Generation, with two concrete examples and the tradeoffs that actually matter.
Dec 12, 2025
AI
7 min read
No. 004
How to Build for Speed: What It Actually Takes to Release Fast
Everyone wants to move fast, but not everyone knows how. Speed isn’t about heroics or skipping QA. It’s about trust in your systems, your telemetry, and your ability to roll back safely. Lessons from years of shipping at Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, Tableau, and startups on what it actually takes to release fast.
Oct 23, 2025
Engineering
7 min read
No. 005
It's Not the Launch, It's the Landing
In technology we celebrate launches as if they were victories. The moment something goes live there is a demo, a blog post, a slide in a performance review. It feels like success. But a launch is not the finish line. It is only takeoff. The real test is whether the product lands.
Oct 2, 2025
Product
3 min read
No. 006
How Engineers Can Use AI Effectively
AI is everywhere in tech conversations. Some people hype it as magic while others dismiss it as overblown. The truth is simpler. AI is a tool. Like any tool in engineering, its value depends on how it is used. Used carelessly, it produces garbage. Used well, it creates leverage.
Sep 26, 2025
AI
3 min read