These are the ten reads I send people when they want a real foundation in AI. Not the hot-take feed. The writers who’ve earned their seat, explaining where we are, what’s worth using and how to think about it.
Each one earns its spot for a different reason. A few give you the lay of the land, a few teach you a specific build, and the rest make you think about what AI is actually doing to work and to us.
You don’t need to read them in order. Pick the one that matches the question you’re carrying right now and save the rest for the weekend. The point isn’t to know every term. It’s to think clearly enough to keep up.
01
An Opinionated Guide To Which AI To Use To Do Stuff
Ethan Mollick · One Useful Thing
Mollick’s Summer 2026 edition of his regular guide. Which paid plan to pick, why agents that can actually do the work now matter more than the chatbot, and how to stay in control while they work. Start here if you’re new.
02
Cowork: How To Set Up Claude
Ruben Hassid · How to AI
Stop writing giant one-off prompts. His setup is a folder of context files (an about-me file, a writing style guide, project folders) plus global instructions Claude reads every time. Cowork is now folding into regular Claude chat, but the context-file approach carries over.
03
How I Code With Agents, Without Being Technical
Ben Tossell · Ben’s Bites
A working playbook from someone who calls himself "not technically technical" and still ships real software with coding agents in the terminal. He walks through about eight things he shipped and how he learned by reading every line the agent writes back to him, without reading the code.
04
The Complete Guide To OpenClaw, Your Personal AI Agent
Claire Vo · Lenny’s Newsletter
How she runs nine OpenClaw agents for her businesses, code, sales and family logistics on a machine she owns, plus six starter workflows worth copying. Heads up that OpenClaw needs a Claude API key now, not your Pro or Max login. Partly paywalled: the first part is free, the rest is for paid subscribers.
05
How To Survive The AI Age: A Concrete Guide
Alberto Romero · The Algorithmic Bridge
Eight specific rules for staying employable and sane, like keeping one regular task AI-free and aiming for competence instead of mastery. The opposite of generic future-of-work advice.
06
AI In 2026
Tomas Pueyo · Uncharted Territories
The macro picture. Whether we’re in a bubble, who wins, how fast progress is moving and what it means for jobs, written at the start of 2026. Partly paywalled: the first part is free, the rest is for paid subscribers.
07
An AI Glossary
Lenny Rachitsky · Lenny’s Newsletter
The most common AI terms you hear in meetings, explained simply. RAG, RLHF, evals and MCP all get a plain-English definition. Bookmark it. Partly paywalled: the first part is free, the rest is for paid subscribers.
08
How I Turned Claude Code Into My Personal Chief Of Staff
Matt Paige · Matt Paige’s Substack
A Claude Code build that reads his calendar, Gmail, Slack, HubSpot, Notion and Granola notes and posts one ranked morning brief to Slack every weekday. He says it works in Cowork too. Partly paywalled: the first part is free, the rest is for paid subscribers.
09
A Guide To Which AI To Use In The Agentic Era
Ethan Mollick · One Useful Thing
The mental model for picking AI now that agents are in play. Models, apps and harnesses, and why the same model behaves very differently depending on where you use it.
10
Build Your Personal AI Copilot
Tal Raviv · Lenny’s Newsletter
A step-by-step guide to turning a Claude or ChatGPT Project into a long-term thinking partner that knows your role, your company and your projects. The one to read after you’ve got your bearings.
Start with Mollick’s opinionated guide for the foundation. Then read Lenny’s glossary so the jargon stops being a wall, and Claire Vo on OpenClaw for the build that changes how you see the rest. Everything else compounds from there.