What people recommend, in their own words, with the receipt.
Technology journalist; writes Understanding AI
14 things
HyperdimensionalOther Dean W. Ball
No policy thinker today understands AI more deeply than Dean Ball. He's also an elegant writer.
His Substack's 'Recommended by Understanding AI' page listing newsletters he endorses (page carries no publish date; retrieval date used) (undated page)
NoahpinionOther Noah Smith
Noah provides deeply insightful economic commentary on a wide range of topics, from renewable energy to the rise of Chian.
His Substack's 'Recommended by Understanding AI' page listing newsletters he endorses (page carries no publish date; retrieval date used) (undated page)
Slow BoringOther Matthew Yglesias
Matt has been my favorite blogger for nearly 20 years now and his work has shaped my thinking on a number of policy issues. His newsletter, Slow Boring, has a high signal-to-noise ratio.
His Substack's 'Recommended by Understanding AI' page listing newsletters he endorses (page carries no publish date; retrieval date used) (undated page)
Derek Thompson's newsletterOther Derek Thompson
Derek writes brilliantly about the economy and is co-author of the best-selling book Abundance. I've been reading his work avidly for 15 years.
His Substack's 'Recommended by Understanding AI' page listing newsletters he endorses (page carries no publish date; retrieval date used) (undated page)
TransformerOther
In-depth reporting on AI and AI policy.
Timothy B. Lee's own recommendation blurb for the newsletter Transformer, on their Substack's recommendations page.
understandingai.org ↗·2026-03-02
The ArgumentOther The Argument
Jerusalem Demsas leads a team of writers making the case for pro-abundance liberalism.
Timothy B. Lee's own recommendation blurb for the newsletter The Argument, on their Substack's recommendations page.
understandingai.org ↗·2025-08-18
Derek ThompsonOther Derek Thompson
Derek writes brilliantly about the economy and is co-author of the best-selling book Abundance. I've been reading his work avidly for 15 years.
Timothy B. Lee's own recommendation blurb for the newsletter Derek Thompson, on their Substack's recommendations page.
understandingai.org ↗·2025-06-20
Interconnects AIOther Nathan Lambert
Insightful and accessible commentary from a guy whose day job is actually training AI models.
Timothy B. Lee's own recommendation blurb for the newsletter Interconnects AI, on their Substack's recommendations page.
understandingai.org ↗·2025-01-01
AI: A Guide for Thinking HumansOther Melanie Mitchell
Deep insights into why and how AI systems work (and don't work) from a prominent computer scientist.
Timothy B. Lee's own recommendation blurb for the newsletter AI: A Guide for Thinking Humans, on their Substack's recommendations page.
understandingai.org ↗·2024-10-10
Apricitas EconomicsOther Joseph Politano
If you want a deep, data-driven understanding of the economy, you need to be reading this newsletter.
His Substack's 'Recommended by Understanding AI' page listing newsletters he endorses (page carries no publish date; retrieval date used) (undated page)
It Can Think!Other Chris Paxton
A great newsletter for understanding the world of robotics, from a working roboticist.
His Substack's 'Recommended by Understanding AI' page listing newsletters he endorses (page carries no publish date; retrieval date used) (undated page)
InterconnectsOther Nathan Lambert
Insightful and accessible commentary from a guy whose day job is actually training AI models.
His Substack's 'Recommended by Understanding AI' page listing newsletters he endorses (page carries no publish date; retrieval date used) (undated page)
AI as Normal TechnologyOther Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor
Two Princeton Computer scientists cut through the hype to help readers understand what's really going on in the AI world.
His Substack's 'Recommended by Understanding AI' page listing newsletters he endorses (page carries no publish date; retrieval date used) (undated page)
Silver BulletinOther Nate Silver
Legendary data journalist Nate Silver covers politics, the future of media, and more.
His Substack's 'Recommended by Understanding AI' page listing newsletters he endorses (page carries no publish date; retrieval date used) (undated page)
Every entry is a verbatim quote and a link to the public post it came from. Nothing is paraphrased. If it is not on record somewhere public, it is not here.
The verdict is what they actually said: loved and liked are explicit; recommended means they told others to get it; uses means they only say they use it; read is a book on their public shelf with no verdict; mixed and disliked are kept too.
A dashed affiliate link, sponsored or their own label means the post disclosed a relationship. It is shown, never hidden.
The small bar beside a date shows how dated a recommendation is for its kind of thing.
The bar shows how dated a recommendation is, for its kind of thing. Full and green is recent. It drains, and turns amber and then grey, as the post gets older.
What counts as old depends on the thing. A laptop praised four years ago has been replaced twice; a book loved twenty years ago is probably still loved. The bar is empty after about:
A striped bar means the post carries no date and the date shown is an estimate. No date at all, no bar.