About this site
Practical field notes on technology, security, AI, finance, and modern digital life, produced through a human + LLM writing workflow.
Craig Balding Field Notes is a collection of practical notes on technology, security, AI, finance, and modern digital life.
Many posts here start in conversation with an LLM, but that is not the interesting part on its own.
When I open my AI chat clients, I am usually looking at hundreds of old conversations. Most are not worth preserving. Some clearly are. They represent time, attention, and paid access to a very capable model, and I do not like leaving that value stranded in a transcript.
I also do not like rereading most chat transcripts. Even when a conversation was useful, the transcript is usually the wrong final form: too long, too repetitive, and too full of turns that only mattered on the way to a better question or a firmer conclusion.
This site is where I try to recover that value. Some posts are compressed from longer conversations that already contain a useful kernel. Others begin as a small thread and turn into a larger inquiry once it becomes clear there is something worth pursuing. In both cases, the goal is the same: prune the transcript, keep the reasoning that matters, preserve the dead ends worth remembering, and publish the useful residue.
The posts are also proof of the method. Regular AI-assisted writing is not just a way to publish more often. It is a thinking loop: make a claim, test the evidence, expose weak reasoning, improve the explanation, and leave behind something useful.
If that way of working resonates, I also help people develop the same kind of process for themselves: turning rough ideas, raw signals, and source material into clearer thinking and more durable work, whether one-to-one or inside a team. Get in touch.
About the writer
I’ve spent more than 30 years in technology and cybersecurity, including leadership roles at Barclays and GE. Today, I work independently from Budapest and London, advising organisations on cyber risk, AI security, and resilient systems.
While this site covers a broader range of technical and operational interests, my consulting work continues through Threatspotting, focused on Cyber Risk Advisory & Assurance, ISO 27001 for Tech Startups, and Cloud & AI Security.