What is Supervised
The explosion of the use of large language and diffusion models, built on top of a multi-billion dollar scaffolding assembled in the past few years, is going to power a new and completely unknown generation of technology.
I started Supervised to fill a need for coverage of AI and big data for decision-makers that now have to navigate that complex industry filled with enormous hype and enormous promise.
I want to help my readers understand the implications of a technology and the team building it—whether that’s the operational impact of AutoGPT or the impact crater it’s created in the cultural zeitgeist of AI.
These kinds of stories will include:
Analysis of trends, backed up by extensive reporting and experience, to unpack what’s changing in the industry.
Data reports on the industry that can be helpful to decision makers, such as analyses of the job market in AI and big data.
Scoops on what’s happening behind the scenes in the industry (which might be published on a more ad-hoc basis if needed).
Direct work with these tools, such as trying out local LLMs or light prompt engineering, to provide some insight as to what you can do with these tools.
Paid subscribers will receive two issues of Supervised a week, while free subscribers will get a section of each issue that includes the intro and some additional context.
Some weeks I may combine two issues into a single larger one depending on the timing of coverage, which may align with embargoes, travel, events, holidays, or personal time off.
Issues of Supervised are typically scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Issues might come out on different days during the week to account for conferences or events, so check the most-recently published post for any updates on timing, or my account on Twitter or Threads.
What you’ll find in Supervised
Each issue of Supervised can be broken down into four categories:
The inference: A primary column based on recent developments or reporting that I’ve been doing in the industry.
ICYMI: Some bigger developments in the big data and AI space and what they mean to decision makers.
On my radar: Consider these conversation-starters based on some buzz I am hearing in the industry and some of the biggest questions people I talk to have.
Breaking GPT: A space where I share some experiments with prompt engineering and work with existing models to give a brief look at some of the edge cases that users (myself or otherwise) are discovering.
What I do
I have been reporting on the tech industry for almost a decade, including at publications including Business Insider, The Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed News, and TechCrunch. Most recently I was Business Insider’s lead reporter on AI and big data, covering companies like Databricks, Snowflake, OpenAI, and others.
I took a brief stint away from journalism to experiment with some new roles and ideas in 2018, including working as a product marketing manager at Brex, marketing research at A Cloud Guru, and finally as a senior analyst in business operations at Pluralsight. While at Brex, I launched the Brex Quarterly Review, a print magazine highlighting spending patterns in Brex’s data.
I studied mathematics at the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill. While there I focused on complex analysis and fluid dynamics in addition to splitting my time with the Daily Tar Heel. I completed a second major in journalism and was nationally recognized by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers for my work at the DTH.
My highly-interdisciplinary work includes extensive experience with Python, SQL, C++, and supervised modeling. I’ve worked with the majority of the tools I cover, including Airflow, PyTorch, Dbt, Snowflake, and various open-source tools.
How sourcing works at Supervised
In my reporting I will try to be as descriptive as I can where information is coming from when speaking with sources that request anonymity. For readers (and people that want to reach out privately), this is how I define it:
Off the record: for informational purposes only, with no usage or attribution. Think of these as hints about where to look.
On background: For the purposes of publishing information that a source is not necessarily authorized to speak publicly. You typically see this in publications in some variation of the phrase “familiar with the matter.”
On “deep” background: A more protected version of background, with less information given to protect the nature of the more sensitive source or information.
On the record: Something that can freely be attributed to an interview—which is, as always, the preferred route to go.
How corrections and updates work
I strive to be as accurate as possible in my work, but like any human, there may be errors in what I do. In the (hopefully extremely rare) case a previous issue needs a correction, I will be transparent to my readers about it and ensure the information, and context, are included in the following issue.
My code of ethics for Supervised
While Supervised is primarily supported by paid subscribers, I am experimenting with limited advertising campaigns. This is all a work in progress as I figure out how to provide the best experience for readers. As it stands, my policies for those campaigns, as well as other potential conflicts, are as follows:
Advertisements, sponsorships, and company-purchased group subscriptions do not, and never will, dictate the coverage of any topics or companies on Supervised.
Sponsors may only select days for an issue to run, and can not select them based on the subject matter of the issue. A sponsor can also never run an advertisement in a newsletter that covers any entity connected to it.
I do not accept gifts or products from companies beyond the value of a water bottle or a T-shirt that you might get at a conference.
I do not hold any individual stocks for companies I cover, and any investments, such as existing 401(k)s, are limited to large funds where I have no control over the investment portfolio.
I may accept free trials for emerging tools and products to experiment with them as part of my coverage, but it will be limited only to the amount of time required for a given set of stories, up to 3 months only.
My time off at Supervised
One of my top priorities at Supervised is to build a sustainable, long-lasting business. I recognize that means ensuring that I do not burn out from over-working.
I will be taking up to four weeks off per year, in addition to any sick days needed for personal health or family emergencies. While I will do my best to ensure issues go out while I’m off, this means that there will be up to 12 days per year that will not have an issue while I take a break. I will provide my readers with as much advance notice as possible in stories, and you can keep up with any publishing changes by following me on any of the platforms I link to below.
I will also be observing national holidays when the market is officially closed. On weeks where the holiday does not align with a publish day (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), there will be no issue the following day. On days where the holiday does align with a publishing day, the issue for that day will be moved to another day, and there will be no issue the following day.
These holidays include: New Years’ Day, Martin Luther King Jr. day, Memorial Day, Easter, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.
In addition to all this, there will be some weeks where my schedule involves heavy amounts of travel for sourcing and development. During these weeks there may be one issue fewer than normal. I will notify readers as far ahead of time as possible about whether or not issues will be moved/skipped for that week.
If I am unable to publish issues for reasons outside of traditional time off, combined columns, sick time, or travel, paid subscribers will receive a comped time equal to 1 week per two issues missed.
For any updates on changes to scheduling or skipped issues, please check either my Twitter profile or the most recent post on the site.
About sponsorships for Supervised
I am currently evaluating limited sponsorships for both paid and free issues. Please reach out to me directly for more information.
Get in touch
Anyone is free to reach out and get in touch with me, and I do my best to try to respond to everything—including pitches, though the majority of time I will be declining them due to time constraints. You can find me the following ways:
Send me an email at m@supervised.news.
If you would like to contact me in a more secure matter, reach me on Signal at +1 415-690-7086.
Follow me on Twitter (DMs open), Mastodon, and Post.news. You can also find me on Bluesky at @mattlynley.bsky.social, and on Instagram Threads at mattlynley@threads.net.
Supervised’s logos are designed by the immensely talented Bryce Durbin.
