Independent Research Studio — Est. 2025

Andy[x]

Exploring open technology, creative systems, and human connection.

The public-facing side of Andy Volk’s studio: current research, works in progress, and thoughts worth sharing. The prospectus explains the whole idea.

Read the prospectus Letters ↓

Contents — 5 entries
01
Introducing downtempo.org
I've launched downtempo.org, a curated map of downtempo music: its subgenres (including lo-fi), the labels that support it, and the new releases to note. And the first Andy[x] pursuit to leave the workshop.
02
Stages of data gathering for AI training: From the Big Scrape through the Big Capture
How AI companies evolved from scraping the web, to licensing your data and to capturing reality itself: the three phases of AI's insatiable hunger for training data.
03
In Defense of Stoicism and Single-Purpose Devices
Thoughts on unbridled intellectual exploration, the joy of e-readers, and why smartphones aren't the perfect do-everything machine.
04
Learning to See: Using An Artist's Eye to Identify Emerging Technology Trends and Their Implications
'Learning to see' isn't just an essential tool for any artist, it's a practice that can significantly improve your understanding of our rapidly-changing world and its technologies. Check out my process with an example of using it when looking for AI growth companies.
05
Introducing Andy[x]
Two months after leaving Google, contemplating life in a geodesic dome on the Baja coast, the urge to build returned. Andy[x] is what came of it.
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