C-TPO

How I use AI

The score at the top of each piece

I use AI, and I'd rather say how much than leave you guessing. Every piece here gets a score for how much of it is me, out of 4. It's my own honest call, not a measurement, and I'll err on the side of giving myself less credit.

Two parts: the idea and the words

A speech is still the president's, even when a speechwriter drafted it. The idea, the argument and the call on what to say are the hard part. So the score gives the idea real weight, and it still tells you how much of the writing is AI.

AI score = idea (0 to 2) + words (0 to 2). Both parts show next to the score, and you can hover over it for the math.

Idea, 0 to 2

Words, 0 to 2

Scores land in between, like 1.3 or 0.8, because most pieces don't fit neatly in one box. The little icons fill in to match the total.

Examples

AI score 4/4 me. Idea 2/2 · Words 2/2
AI score 3.3/4 me. Idea 2/2 · Words 1.3/2
AI score 2.5/4 me. Idea 2/2 · Words 0.5/2
AI score 1.5/4 me. Idea 1/2 · Words 0.5/2

Why it changed

The first version, on day one, was one number for the writing, and owning the idea only got me to a 1 out of 4. That undersold the part that matters most, so I split it in two. My scores went up when I did. Part 1, for example, went from 2.6 to 3.3. The old numbers are in the changelog, so you can judge whether that's fair.

Whatever the score, the ideas I put my name to are mine, and so are the mistakes. If a score looks wrong to you, tell me on LinkedIn.

For people short on time

TL;DR

Matt thinks out loud here about technology, mostly how teams decide what to build, fix and protect.

The first series argues that security gets better fastest when the teams that each hold part of the answer share it earlier. The newest piece, Clay first, chisel later, is about roughing out the whole thing before polishing the parts.

Every piece says how much AI helped, and the site changes in the open. The discussion happens on LinkedIn.

Start with Part 1 →
AI score 2/4 me. Idea 1.5/2 · Words 0.5/2. AI drafted these from what's on the site; I haven't rewritten them yet

Updated October 13, 2026. A TL;DR for the whole site, by reader, is an idea by Matt at ctpo.io. Copy it freely, just link back.